


Save Me

by Philpott397



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Firefighter AU, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Major Character Injury, domestic AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-23 23:41:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 49,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13798818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Philpott397/pseuds/Philpott397
Summary: “You bought that calendar?”  Scott said, snickering as Reyes flushed.“And it hasn’t left May.”  Reyes admitted, mentally picturing Scott’s bare chest, only clad in his fire pants, thumb hooked into his waistband, revealing just enough of the v of his hip.“Well you did cut most of my clothes off the first time we met.”  Scott said, laughing more than he had in months.“For purely medical reasons I assure you.”  Reyes said, smirking into his drink as Scott leaned back and checked his watch.“Sure, and next you’ll tell me that buying the calendar was to examine muscle structure.”  Scott said.





	1. The Beginning

“Truck 1 we have a structure fire on north 14th and Albatross.”  The intercom sounded.

Scott groaned, half a bite into his sandwich as the call came in.  He was only halfway into his swing shift and he had yet to actually eat tonight.  Marcus smirked and slapped him on the back as he threw his sandwich back in his bag and it in the fridge.  Running to the garage he pulled his jumpsuit on and grabbed his gear before looping his arm around the back handle of the fire truck. 

Buckling his helmet with one hand he smiled at Marcus as the truck took off down the road.  Within a few minutes he could see the glow of a fire on the three story apartment.  Even after four years on the crew, he still go the adrenaline rush of helping people in danger.

“All occupants are accounted for, fire started on the third apartment of the third floor, truck one suppress from the roof.”  Cora relayed from her position already at the fire.

Cora was their fire supervisor, responsible for coordinating them on suppressing the fire safely as well as the other emergency responders there such as the police and ambulance personal.  She was a by the books women, but damn did Scott respect the eye she had for making sure they were safe on the fires they responded to. 

Scott hopped off the back of the truck, tested his oxygen, and grabbed his crowbar, waiting for the ladder to be put in position.  Marcus and Danial were suiting up to in their rebreathers and oxygen tanks as Vince backed the truck toward the building. 

“Scott focus on the right side where it’s breaking the shingles.  Danial, Marcus break windows and start spraying.”  Cora ordered. 

“You got it boss.”  Scott said back, earning an amused snort from the woman.

Scott jumped up the rungs to the ladder, climbing step by step in his clunky boots.  Once he got to the roof he accepted the hose from Vince and started spraying the area where the smoke had started seeping through the simmering shingles.  Stepping one foot onto the roof he blanketed water into steadily collapsing roof as Marcus and Danial started cooling the third floor on another ladder. 

Suddenly a gust of hot air rushed up from the roof, taking the roof down into the building and pulling Scott down with it.  He cursed as he hit the floor of the second floor, knocking his breath out as a large weight settled over his legs. 

“Scott can you hear me?”  Cora asked in his earpiece, still calm under the stressful situation that just happened.

“Yeah, I think I’m on the second floor.  I have debris on my legs.”  Scott said, coughing as he grabbed for his rebreather.

“Ok, I’m gonna send Marcus and Danial in to pull you out, hang tight and tell me if anything changes.”  Cora said.

Moments later he heard boots crunching glass as Marcus and Danial neared him.  Marcus was the first to reach him, taking his crowbar to pry the wooden beam off his legs.  Scott grunted as Danial kneeled down beside him and gently lifted him into a bridal carry. 

“Motherfucker.”  Scott bit out as Danial carried him outside the apartment, his hip sending sharp pains. 

Within moments he was on a stretcher, paramedics pulling off his coat and cutting off his shirt and pants.  Boots adding to the pile in the corner of the ambulance. 

“Can you tell me your name?”  One of the paramedics asked, a darker skinned man.

“Scott Ryder.”  Scott said, groaning as hands pressed down on his tender legs.

“I’m Liam, can you tell me where your pain is at right now?”  Liam asked.

“Most of it’s my right hip.”  Scott said, cursing sharply as the hands on his leg moved to remove his boxers and examine his hip.

“You have such a terrible bed manner Kosta.”  The other paramedic said as he gently placed an ice pack against his hip before securing a padded brace to stabilize the swollen joint.

“You’re one to talk Reyes.”  Liam shot back, taking notes of his vitals.

Suddenly a very handsome Latin man pushed Liam out of the way and smiled down at him.  His warm brown eyes focused solely on him floored his already jumbled mental processes.  This man has also removed most of his clothes, he brain helpfully supplied.  The man offered an amused chuckled as Scott blushed turning away, turning his glance toward his partner. 

“Go start the truck and try to avoid the bumps.”  Reyes said as Liam nodded.

“Are you feeling dizzy or nauseous at all?”  Reyes asked taking a look at his chest, feeling for tenderness in his ribs and stomach.

“A little nauseous, I think I might have hit my head on the way down.”  Scott said, grunting as Reyes pressed down on the abdominal cavity right above his injured hip.

“Ok, your hip is dislocated.  My main worry right now is that there may be some internal damage since there is some swelling.  Right now, the best you can do is tell me if something starts hurting extremely worse than it is now.  I’m going to sit you up a little and give you a bag just in case.”  Reyes said, adjusting the bed.

“Nothing’s in my stomach to come up.”  Scott said, taking a deep breath and adjusting himself on the backboard.

“You haven’t eaten today?”  Reyes asked, carefully inserting an IV with some low grade pain meds to help with the swelling.

“I was half a bite into my sandwich when we got called.”  Scott said, smiling as some of the pain subsided.

“Well if you weren’t most likely going to go into surgery I’d offer you some of my salad from three hours ago, but.”  Reyes said, prompting the firefighter to snort in amusement.

Reyes smiled as the man relaxed, carefully wiping the soot from his face and neck.  Running a wipe over a cut on the man’s forehead, taking some gauze pads out of a box to his side.  Under the grime the man was certainly attractive, bright blue eyes relaxed as the pain meds overpowered the pain from the vehicles poor suspension.      

“Maybe you could pay me back later.”  Scott said, immediately turning red at what just came out of his mouth.  Internally cursing the pain medication.

“We’ll see about that, hold still for me.”  Reyes smirked, covering the man with a few blankets before tightening the straps around him as they neared the hospital.

“I’m sorry I said that, you probably have a nice family and wife that would smack my gay face.”  Scott said, grimacing as the ambulance took sharp turn, pain shooting up his throbbing hip and abdomen.

“Easy Liam!”  Reyes shouted before turning back to him, a shy smile on his warm features.  “I’m single actually, and as straight as your hip right now.” 

Scott laughed under his breath, groaning as the truck passed the last few bumps and started reversing toward the trauma doors.  Internal bleeding was about as fun as he remembered, the cramps from his abdominal cavity swelling only adding to the discomfort. 

Reyes smiled, rubbing a comforting hand over the man’s thigh.  Internal bleeding wasn’t a comfortable process, but he couldn’t do anything to help it in the ambulance.  He needed the trauma team to relieve the pressure and control the rupture. 

“Ok, just a few more bumps unloading you and the doctors will give you some of the good stuff before they pop your hip back into place, and they’ll relieve some of that pressure in your abdomen.”  Reyes said getting up to help Liam unload the stretcher.

“Thank you for helping me, five stars.”  Scott said, smiling as they wheeled him inside.

“You’re welcome, feel better ok.”  Reyes said, letting the trauma team take him.

-

Scott groaned under his breath, the real world coming back to him little by little as he recognized his dimmed surroundings.  He wasn’t a stranger to hospital rooms, but that didn’t mean he liked waking up in them.  His torso was flat on the bed as the lower end of the bed was elevated slightly. 

He could feeling the secure bandages on his hip, and the see the bulky forms of plastic black braces on his legs.  His back felt sore, and the dry oxygen up his nose wasn’t exactly his favorite sensation.  No more stepping off the ladder, he mentally chastised himself.

“Good morning Scott.”  A feminine voice said from his right. 

“Morning Lexi.”  Scott groaned, head tilting to catch sight of his doctor. 

The darker skinned woman gave him a pointed glance as she glanced between his vitals and him.  She didn’t look impressed with him and he didn’t blame her.  Lexi had been his doctor for as long as he had been a firefighter, as well for his other issues.  She knew he had the mind to be more careful, he just didn’t use it all the time.

“How are you feeling?”  Lexi asked, standing up to turn the lighting up a few clicks.

“Sore, pissed at myself for being back in this bed.”  Scott grumbled.

“Cora called me, she said it wasn’t your fault this time.  Just that the fire was deeper than they had first thought and it had already burned the supports.  I know you don’t like being here, but I need you to stick it out for a few weeks so that I can make sure your hip is healing.”  Lexi explained.

“I don’t exactly come her on good days Lexi.”  Scott said, frowning at his blanket.

Her mind flashed back to that day, a little less than four years ago when Scott had given up on life after the trauma he experienced in his young life.  The slightly raised scar that ran from his chin to the hinge of the right side of his jaw was all that was left in evidence of him trying to take his life with his pistol, a police officer grabbing the gun at the last moment. 

There was still a small burn scar on his chin from where the blast had burnt him, but it like the scar wasn’t that prominent under his stubble.  That’s the day that Lexi became his trusted doctor, when she had operated on his torn up jaw.  She knew his limits better than he did, and Scott knew she had his best interests at heart, even if he was stubborn. 

“I know Scott, but I can’t send you home like this.  You’re hip thankfully wasn’t broken, but there is some serious bruising on your legs and abdominal cavity.  You won’t be able to walk for a least a week.”  Lexi tried, unable to keep Scott’s attention.

“I want to go home, I’ll figure out a way to get around.  I just can’t stay here.”  Scott stated, not meeting the doctor’s gaze.

“Scott, use that brain of yours and think about what you’re doing.  At least give me a week, then I could send you home knowing you wouldn’t have the chance of reopening something fatal.”  Lexi asked, placing a warm hand on his shoulder.

“Lexi please, I just want to go home.  I hate this place.”  Scott said, sniffling as he wiped at his eyes.

“If I send you home, you will call my office phone twice a day to check in.  If you don’t, I will not hesitate to send an ambulance to haul you back here for a month of bed rest.  No exercise, no getting up other than to eat or use the bathroom.  Do you understand me Scott?”  Lexi explained.

“Yes, a thousand times yes.”  Scott said, smiling shyly.

“Ok, we’ll transport you tonight.  But if you don’t make a bowel movement today, the deals off.”  Lexi said smirked as Scott turned red.

-

Reyes cursed coughing roughly as smoke filtered through his living room.  The fire alarm had been going off for ten minutes now, but the stair case was filled with black smoke.  Hacking he threw a towel against the bottom of his apartment door and dialed 911 again.  Dispatch had recognized him almost immediately and told him the firefighters were on their way to his room as well as several others. 

His thoughts shot back to Scott, his lazily smile despite how much pain he should have been in for his injuries.  It had been three months since the incident, but he had never learned if the man had made it back to work.  Coughing roughly again he threw open his window and breathed in the cool night air.  He could see flashing light in front of the building, but his apartment was blocked by trees.

Without warning his door splintered as it met the floor, a bulky firefighter clambering through as smoke raged behind him.  His voice was muffled by his rebreather, but Reyes could tell he was yelling for survivors.  He pulled himself away from the window and toward the firefighter knowing the man would be his best bet over the clean air. 

Without a word the man pulled out a fireproof blanket and wrapped the man inside of it before pulling off his rebreather and giving it to the man.  Reyes nodded and pressed the mask to his mouth as the man covered his head with the blanket and picked him up.  He could feel the heat of the flames around them as the firefighter took the stairs down to safety.  He could also feel the man coughing as he carried Reyes through the thick smoke and felt immediately guilty about having the man’s only source of oxygen.

As soon as they reached the fresh air of outside the blanket came off and he met the very piece of equipment he handled every day.  He never thought a stretcher could be so comfortable.  The firefighter that had saved him helped the paramedics situate him.  Glancing up he was met with Scott’s soot covered face tucked in his jacket, helmet crooked on his head.

“Nice to see you again, but if you’ll excuse me I have other people to pull out of there.”  Scott said, patting Reyes shoulder as he disappeared back into the blazing building.

“So is he the reason there’s a firefighter of the month calendar in your office?”  Liam asked, prompting Reyes to weakly smack him as they loaded him into the ambulance.

“You laugh, who do you thinks gonna get stuck with my shifts.”  Reyes rasped.

-

“So…”  Suvi said leaning back in her chair, one ear of her headset hung off to the side.

“So what?”  Reyes asked, looking up from where he was sewing together a tear in his pants.

“Who’s this firefighter you keep hanging around with?”  Suvi asked, smirking into her tea.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Reyes said, coughing as he willed the blush to recede.

“Reyes what month is it?”  Suvi asked.

“July.”  Reyes answered furling his brow at the stitching.

“So why haven’t you switched your calendar to July, it seems to be stuck on a certain firefighter of the month.”  Suvi said, causing Reyes to stab his finger with the needle.

“I forgot.”  Reyes said, cursing under his breath as he held his finger.

“Come on Reyes, who is he?”  Suvi asked, leaning over to radio a few points before turning back to him.

“I helped him when he fell through that structure fire a few months back.  We’re acquaintances at best, although I wouldn’t mind cutting him out of his clothes again, that jumpsuit doesn’t do him justice.”  Reyes said, flushing red when he realized what had slipped out of his mouth.

-

“You gotta let me kick his ass.”  Marcus said, taking another bite of his sandwich as he kept his eyes on the man laying his head on the table in front of him.

“No, it’s fine.”  Scott mumbled, running a finger around the rim of his coffee cup.

“Fine my ass, he dumped you after you had a nightmare.  After you told him about what you had gone through.  He’s a fucking asshole that I should shove down a sewer drain.”  Marcus growled.

“Not really a new thing they dump me over.”  Scott whispered, stare downcast.

“Doesn’t make it right.  Fucker just wanted to get in your pants, should have knocked some sense into him sooner.”  Marcus said.

“Can we talk about something else Marc, something that doesn’t make me want to blow my brains out again?”  Scott mumbled.

“We can talk about that paramedic you’re always hanging out with at calls.”  Marcus said, grinning as Scott blushed.

He had seen the Latin man on many of his calls, he must have transferred to the medical unit that covered the same districts they did.  If he had the time, they would chat as calls wrapped up, or helped each other with the situation at hand.  But he would be lying if the warm smile and shimmering brown eyes hadn’t become a haven in his swirling mess of life.

“Earth to Ryder.”  Marcus said.

“Oh, sorry.  He’s a friend.”  Scott said, picking his head off the table.

“Sure, maybe you should try dating him.  At least he would be in sort of the same mindset as we are, and there would be an ambulance nearby in case I needed to lay him out.”  Marcus said, smiling as Scott let out a snort of amusement.

“How about I give this breakup a month or two before I dive back into dating?”  Scott offered, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Trucks one respond to a home fire on ten and two.”  The intercom sounded as both men groaned.

-

“We really need to stop meeting like this.”  Reyes said as he dabbed the cut on Scott’s hand.

Scott chuckled as he sat perpendicular on the stretcher, breathing steadily through an oxygen mask.  The fire in a house was simmering just outside the doors as the rest of truck one took their time getting checked out in other ambulances.  Three of their rebreathers had malfunctioned during the fire.

Cora had made the decision to pull them out and have them examined and let the structure go.  The homeowner was in a full shouting match with the woman over losing her house and having firefighters pull back from suppressing the blaze. 

“When’s your next day off.”  Scott rasped, coughing roughly as Reyes removed his jacket and lowered the suspenders supporting his pants, anything to take the stress off of his chest.

“Tomorrow and Sunday, so the weekend.  Lie back for me.”  Reyes answered, pushing lightly to guide the exhausted man down onto the stretcher.

“We should grab dinner.”  Scott mumbled, coughing and wincing, prompting Reyes to adjust the mixture he was getting through the mask.

“We’ll see, are you feeling any better?”  Reyes asked, hastily writing down his number on a bandage cover before shoving it in Scott’s coat pocket.

“A little, I’m just tired been on shift for twelve hours.  Not to mention your truck is warm and comfy” Scott said, smirking.

Reyes nodded, jolted out of his thoughts as the back door to the ambulance opened.  Cora stood in the doorway, exhaustion written in her features.  A smiled played over her face as she caught sight of Reyes.

“Got your favorite paramedic did you Scott?”  Cora asked, prompting the man to flip her off.

“Shut it boss.”  Scott mumbled.

“Uh huh, Marcus and Vince are going to get transported to the hospital for the night.  Does he need to be as well?”  Cora asked Reyes.

“His oxygen is in the green, just some discomfort and exhaustion.  I wouldn’t allow him to drive home tonight, but there wouldn’t be a problem in him sleeping alone tonight.  I can give him an inhaler designed for firefighters that inhale this much smoke.”  Reyes explained, checking his vitals again before turning down the mixture to just pure oxygen.

“Scott what do you want to do?”  Cora asked, stepping in and closing the door to keep the truck warm.

“I don’t think I would be a good idea for me to go back to my apartment, I could stay in the bunk house tonight.  I don’t need the hospital though.”  Scott said, already nodding off on the stretcher.

“Ok, would you guys be able to transport him to the firehouse?  I have to get this whole situation handled and the house put out completely.  He won’t get a ride anytime soon.”  Cora explained.

“Yeah, what station?”  Reyes asked.

“Fourteen, right on Hankster and Juniper.  I’ll let them know you’re on your way, and thank you.  He might not say it but he likes you.”  Cora said before jumping out the back and closing the door.

Reyes smirked and glanced back to Scott who was lightly snoring on the stretcher.  Grabbing a few blankets from the cupboard to tuck around the exhausted man, he looked up as Liam walked in.

“Are we transporting him too?”  Liam asked, rubbing his sore eyes.

“To firehouse 14, he’s gonna bunk there rather than the hospital.  Then we can turn in for the night.”  Reyes said as Liam nodded and left to take the driver’s seat.

After a few minutes they arrived at the station, two middle age firefighters met the ambulance outside and one of them took Scott’s gear as the other took him into the firehouse, still wrapped in the blankets.  Reyes followed and made sure his crew knew what was going on and what they would need to do if Scott woke up with complications.

-

_Scott:  Hey, this is Scott._

_Reyes:  Hey, good to hear from you._

_Scott:  Did you still want to grab dinner tonight?_

_Reyes:  Sure, when and where?_

_Scott:  Buckeye’s at eight?_

_Reyes:  Sounds good, I’ll meet you then._

_-_

Reyes was the first one to arrive, claiming a booth in the back of the restaurant and ordering a drink for himself.  He had dressed in some simple jeans and a grey button up, slicking his hair back as usual.  Scott arrived a few minutes later, in black jeans and a blue firefighter shirt with a leather jacket over the top.  It was then he noticed without the bulky gear that Scott did in fact have a slight limp on his right side.

“Hey.”  Scott greeted setting himself down with a sigh.

“Feeling better?”  Reyes asked.

“Sore as always, but I’m breathing better.”  Scott said, ordering a drink as the waitress came by.

“Is the limp from the first time we met, or?”  Reyes asked, glancing over his menu.

“I got hit by a VIED in Iraq, broke my pelvis in four different places, the fall a few months ago didn’t exactly help it.”  Scott explained, wincing as he adjusted himself.

“VIED?”  Reyes asked.

“Vehicular improvised explosive device, luckily it was a dud.”  Scott said smirking as they ordered.

“Wow, and you decided to keep the adrenaline going?”  Reyes asked.

“I wanted to keep helping people, and the medical discharge meant I couldn’t do that in the marines any longer, so firefighting.  What about you?”  Scott asked.

“I was just out of high school, driving down a fairly busy road after my shift at McDonalds.  Just as the light turned green and I was in the middle of the intersection a drunk driver hit the driver’s side of my truck flipping it onto its roof.  It was a paramedic that pulled me out just as the truck caught fire.  They calmed me down, treated me, and on the way to the hospital I expressed that I had no future prospects so they offered an EMT class.  A few weeks later when I got released from the hospital I went to one and never looked back.”  Reyes explained.

“You certainly have the bed manner for it.”  Scott said, smiling warmly at the man.

“Enough about work, what do you when you’re not jumping into smoke?”  Reyes asked, thanking the waitress as she set down their food.

“Sleep, sometimes I’ll go out to dinner with the guys or go shoot up at the range.”  Scott said, taking a bite of his burger.  “You?”

“I’ll work out or study for the medical courses I take from the university.  I don’t get out much.”  Reyes explained, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Scott nodded, taking a sip of his water before talking again.  Both men had relaxed into the comfortable conversation, unaware of the noisy sports bar behind them. 

“I’m surprised a handsome man like you doesn’t already have someone.”  Scott stated, smirking as Reyes choked on his drink.

“You’re blunt.”  Reyes said as Scott nodded and smiled.  “Not many people understand the job and it makes it hard to keep someone close when all you do is work these hours and can’t talk about because they don’t get it.  I’ve never found someone that I could talk to besides my coworkers, and I’m not about to date any of them.” 

“I hear you there, I tried dating a few guys and they never wanted to talk about my day at work.  Or they bitched about the hours I worked, back then I was new and had pager duty.”  Scott explained, frowning slightly.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind trying to date.  I’m sure even with differing jobs we could understand each other a little more than the usual person.”  Reyes offered, smiling warmly.

“I’d like that, fair warning you will be teased if you come to the firehouse once they realize I’m dating again.”  Scott said, smirking.

“As will you around the medical depots, they already make fun of my new firefighter calendar at my desk. 

“You bought that calendar?”  Scott said, snickering as Reyes flushed.

“And it hasn’t left May.”  Reyes admitted, mentally picturing Scott’s bare chest, only clad in his fire pants, thumb hooked into his waistband, revealing just enough of the v of his hip.

“Well you did cut most of my clothes off the first time we met.”  Scott said, laughing more than he had in months.

“For purely medical reasons I assure you.”  Reyes said, smirking into his drink as Scott leaned back and checked his watch.

“Sure, and next you’ll tell me that buying the calendar was to examine muscle structure.”  Scott said.

“That’s a new one actually, I should tell Liam that next time he teases me about it.”  Reyes said.

“Glad to help, I…”  Scott started before his phone started buzzing in his pocket. 

Sighing he gave Reyes an apologetic smile before answering the call with a serious yet tired face.  He nodded absently at the voice on the other end offering quiet oks every now and then, frown growing with each minute that passed.  Reyes unconsciously stirred the straw in his drink, picking at left over fries.  With a final sigh Scott ended the call, hesitant to look up at him.

“The station is getting overwhelmed, I’m getting called in.  I’m sorry to cut this short, I had a great time tonight.”  Scott said, hastily signaling the waitress for the check.

“It’s alright I…”  Reyes started as his phone buzzed on his belt.  “I’m getting called in as well.” 

Scott chuckled as he quickly paid for his meal and followed the Latin man to their trucks.  Stopping in front of his truck Scott hugged the paramedic tight before stepping away.

“Be safe tonight.”  Scott said, jumping in his truck.

“You too.”  Reyes yelled back.

-

Scott cursed under his breath as he slumped down on the back steps of their fire truck.  Whoever decided to build ten story building and let the employees have candles at their desks was going to get his ash covered boot up their ass if he ever met them. 

For now he just settled for Vince refilling his oxygen tank so he could take another round at helping the crew suppress the fire.  Four floors were engulfed in flames with two others smoking as three other engines rained down foam retardant on the structure.  His head hurt from the ten rounds he had already gone through on the building, body exhausted from tramping up the concrete stairs.

Cora looked just as exhausted running around with her radio yelling orders at the four crews as they battled the blaze.  Three ambulances were treating some janitors as well as running between the fire crews administer fluids, oxygen, and food to the exhausted firefighters. 

Scott could clearly see Reyes in a blue jumpsuit, in place of his usual uniform because of the rush call, with a reflective yellow vest.  Running between firefighters with an oxygen tank strapped to his back, a backpack, and cooler full of supplies.  He looked as much in the zone as Scott was. 

“All full.”  Vince said, patting his helmet. 

“Back to work.”  Scott mumbled, testing his oxygen before grabbing his axe and heading over to Cora.

“How you holding up Scott?”  Cora asked before shouting three other orders into her radio.

“Good, ready for round eleven.  Where do you need me boss?”  Scott asked.

“Fifth floor, start cutting down the cubicles around the supports, if those go down this whole building is going to come down.”  Cora said as Scott nodded.

“Got it, and boss make sure you get some water too.”  Scott said, running back into the building. 

Groaning he pulled himself up the five sets of stairs, smoke clouding his vision as he kicked down the door to the fifth floor.  There wasn’t much smoke as he worked on pulling everything flammable toward the center of the room away from the supports. 

Keeping a close eye on his oxygen he slammed his axe into a cupboard on the wall before throwing it into the center of the room.  Part of his felt bad for destroying parts of this business, but he had a job to do and that thousand dollar cabinet was in his way. 

Fifteen minutes later his warning light came on in his rebreather as he collected his axe and walked down the stairs.  He had succeeded in securing the supports on the fifth floor, but more black smoke was still pouring down the stairwell. 

Vince smiled as he slumped back onto the step, dropping his helmet onto the ground in front of him, rebreather handing around his neck.  Vince hooked up the refill for his tank before running to unhook Marcus and Danial.  His head was pounding as he leaned back against the truck watching ash rain down from the blazing building.  If the fire went much farther Cora would need to pull out the crews to get them out of the danger of the building collapsing. 

“Feeling alright?”  Reyes asked, as he moved from Marcus to him.

“I’m really starting to regret ordering the half pound burger.”  Scott said, smiling tiredly at the paramedic.

“Do you need anything?”  Reyes asked, dropping his heavy backpack to the ground to pull a bottle of Gatorade out of the cooler, still dripping from the melted ice.

“If you could wipe the grime away from my eyes and nose, be careful of the smoke residue.”  Scott asked, accepting the drink with a shaky hand. 

Reyes nodded grabbing a new pair of gloves and some wipes.  He gently wiped the built up sweat and grime from his eyes before moving to his nose and mouth.  Scott took a long gulp of the cool drink before leaning his head back against the cool metal of the truck. 

“You’re full.”  Vince said, unhooking his tank.

Scott glared playfully at the man before tipping his head forward to find Reyes zipping up his bag.  Grabbing his helmet and rebreather he gingerly got to his feet and readied himself for the next fifteen minutes of work.  Looking up he could see that some of the flames had died down as well as the volume of smoke.

“Be careful in there.”  Reyes said, nodding before walking over to help the next person.

It took another two hours and five more trips to put out the blaze.  Second shift was coming on to relive them at six in the morning.  Scott smirked as he limped out of the cool, wet building.  With his night over he could go home and sleep off the lingering exhaustion until the week actually started for him. 

Reyes was leaning against the door of his ambulance with Liam, joking together and waiting for their job to be done for the night.  There were stacks of empty boxes of Gatorade near the tire, a testament to what they had been through to save the building.  He limped over to his truck, Vince waiting with the hose to rinse any toxic residue still stuck on his clothes and gear. 

He glanced over to Reyes just as he took his helmet off, water running down his already sweat soaked hair.  The paramedic smirked at him as he walked over to Scott as he started to peel off the heavy layers.  Wincing he took his coat off and folded it on the seat, grabbing a towel to wipe his face and hair.

“Not as good as the calendar.”  Reyes said, holding out his half-finished Gatorade and some wipes.

“I’m sure I can make it up to you in a few dates, but I’m a little worn out at the moment.”  Scott said, gingerly setting himself down on the step to take off his boots.

Flexing his foot, he rotated his ankle back and forth before working on his other boot.  Reyes stood there watching, mentally cataloguing the post fire routine. 

“Well I can honestly say that no one has ever taken me to a structure fire for a first date.”  Reyes commented, earning a good chuckle from the man.

“You’re the first date that’s come to work with me.”  Scott said, smirking as he stretched out his leg to take pressure off his hip.

“Ok lovebirds, Scott truck one is leaving in five so second shift can come in.  Kiss your favorite paramedic goodnight and turn in.”  Cora said, smirking as Scott flushed red. 

“I had fun Scott, see you later?”  Reyes asked.

“I did too, be safe.”  Scott said, patting Reyes on the shoulder before retying his boots and hopping in the truck.

Reyes nodded, walking away only to have his sleeve caught by one of the other firefighters with the name Marcus stitched into his jacket.

“Hurt him and I’ll put you on your own stretcher.  Have a good night now.”  Marcus said grinning before hopping in the driver’s seat of the truck. 

“Goodnight Reyes, don’t worry about them.”  Scott said, smiling warmly before closing the door.

Reyes smirked waving to that man as the truck took off toward the station.  He followed it out of eyesight before walking back to the ambulance Liam snickering in the front seat. 

“Get threatened there buddy?”  Liam asked, glancing back to his partner.

“Just a little brotherly protection, I understand.”  Reyes said.

-

Reyes sighed, taking a sip of his hot coffee as the ambulance drove down the busy city roads.  He was seventeen hours into his twenty hour shift and the shift had already been more than busy for his and Liam’s tastes.  Between three car crashes, two overdoses, and a gunshot victim, he was tired when the next call came through. 

“Dispatch to medic 10-2.”  The radio sounded.

“Go ahead.”  Liam said, radio balanced in his hand.

“We have an individual experiencing a PTSD episode on Huntington and Graff, neighbors are worried that he may become violent.  P.D. is already on scene trying to talk him down, but requested medical assistance.”  Dispatch explained.

“10-4.” Liam said, turning on the sirens and hitting the gas.

Reyes cursed under his breath, mental calls were one of his specialties but that didn’t mean he enjoyed them.  Talking people down was a learned skill, but I was often a tiresome interaction that could go either way very fast.  And PTSD episodes were the worst on his list after suicidal calls.

“Dispatch, what apartment is it?”  Liam asked as they pulled up to the building.

“458 medic 10-2.”  Dispatch relayed.

Reyes took a deep breath and grabbed his medical bag fitted with vital monitors, a few medications, and books with resources for every type of mental disorder and services in the city for them.  Liam followed him up the steps and stayed close as they took the stairs. 

Reaching the fourth floor they immediately spotted the three police officers, one leaning against the door talking to their patient.  They all looked tense which made Reyes stomach drop even lower at what would be waiting for him behind that door. 

“Sir, we have paramedics here.  Can they come in and talk with you for a few minutes?”  The officer asked, earning a muffled yeah from the man.

“I’ll stay back, call if you need me.”  Liam said, knowing it could look threatening to the patient if more than one person came in.

“Ok, here we go.”  Reyes said, putting on a warm smile and stepping into the apartment.

“Reyes?” 

The paramedic stopped abruptly, coming face to face with a distressed and trembling Scott Ryder.  The man looked awful to say the least, only dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a loose tank top with tear tracks, red eyes, and shadows.  The upbeat man he had seen just a week ago was gone, and he needed to get him back.

“Hey Scott, mind if sit down?”  Reyes asked, gesturing slowly to the chair in front of the couch Scott was hunched on.

“Go ahead.”  Scott said, wiping his eyes, but tracking the paramedic closely.

Reyes smiled, keeping his hands clearly visible as he took a seat in the chair, never turning his back to the man.  Taking off his backpack he set it down softly on the carpet so that Scott could watch exactly what he was doing.  Grabbing a box of tissues and the vital monitor box out he handed the tissues to Scott who accepted them with a sniffle.

“What’s going on today Scott?”  Reyes asked, looking Scott in his bloodshot eyes.

“Nightmare.”  Scott mumbled, wiping at his eyes with a tissue.

“Is it from your time in the marines, or from firefighting?”  Reyes asked.

“My time recovering from my medical discharge actually, a lot of months stuck in bed with a sore hip.  I woke up and thought I was still there, then my upstairs neighbor dropped something and I cracked.”  Scott said, new tears running down his face as he tried to hide behind his hand.

Reyes nodded, standing with enough noise to let Scott what was happening as he sat a few inches from the shaking man.  This wasn’t a step Reyes took as patients were often unpredictable in how they would react, but Scott wasn’t just a patient.  He had to take the chance and make sure the man didn’t devolve into another episode or panic attack. 

“Do you trust me Scott?”  Reyes asked.

Scott looked up, breathing shallow as he wiped at his eyes.  His mouth hung open for a few moments before shutting and nodding without a word.  Reyes smiled kindly with the man, gently pulling him into a firm embrace and threading their fingers together with one hand while the other rubbed his back.  One hand to ground him and the other to comfort. 

The man broke down, sobbing into Reyes shoulder.  The paramedic gently started to rock back and forth letting Scott get his bottle emotions out before he would ask the harder questions.  He was here to make sure Scott got the help he needed whether it was him talking or a trip to the hospital.  Within a few minutes the man pulled back with a shaky breath, taking a tissues from Reyes.

“Sorry, I never wanted you to see this side of me.  This was what really drove boyfriends away, no one wants to date you if you wake them up screaming in the middle of the night, or end up like this after someone drops a pan.”  Scott admitted, shaking violently, eyes darting around the room.

“I wouldn’t leave you over something like this.  Do you take any medication for the episodes or anxiety?”  Reyes asked, continuing to rub his back as he reached for his bag.

“My anxiety meds ran out a month ago, I was doing pretty good without them.  I don’t know what caused this flare up.”  Scott explained, feeling Reyes take his hand from his back and dig through his bag. 

He was lying of course, the man pushed up against his side was the reason he was having this breakdown.  Terrified of losing yet another love interest because he couldn’t get the mess of his head together.  Hope and terror had were about one in the same now a days to him.

“One sec.”  Reyes said leaning toward his radio.  “Liam tell P.D. to check out, I’ll check with you in twenty.” 

“10-4, I’ll wait outside the door.”  Liam radioed back.

“Ok, so I have anxiety meds I also have fendactyn which is a very low grade muscle relaxer that can settled down the tremors you’re having.  It doesn’t knock you out or anything like that.”  Reyes explained as he pulled out a pill bottle and a vial of tinted blue solution.

“You’re sure it won’t act like a sedative?”  Scott asked, silently willing himself to calm down.

“I promise, it’s a medication that I personally requested from the doctors at the mental therapy unit at the hospital.  Every PSTD call that I go to and use it, it works likes magic.”  Reyes assured.

“Ok, I’ll try it.”  Scott said.

Reyes smiled uncapping the anxiety meds to hand Scott two, with a water bottle from his bag.  As he swallowed the meds, Reyes pulled on gloves and retrieved a syringe, cotton ball, tape, and wipes from his bag.  Ripping open the package he inspected the syringe for defects before uncapping the vial and inserting the needle into the liquid. 

Drawing a half dose he closed the vial and closed a cap on the needle.  Gently taking Scott’s arm he wiped off his inner elbow and felt around for a good vein.  Reyes smirked victoriously as if shouting eureka internally as he located a big vein causing Scott to let out a snort of amusement. 

Taking the syringe cap off and checking for bubbles, he gently inserted the syringe and depressed the liquid into the firefighter.  Grabbing the cotton ball he motioned for Scott to hold it too his arm as he disposed of the syringe in a biohazard box.  Ripping a piece of tape he gently positioned it over the cotton ball.

“How do you usually cope with the episodes or things that stimulate them?”  Reyes asked, cleaning up his trash.

“Well, I live in an apartment with older residents so that usually keeps the sudden noise down.  I’ll leave a light on at night so that I can immediately tell where I am if I wake up disoriented.  My only issue is combinations of stimuli, like today.  Usually work tires me out enough to keep me under and wake up ok, its multiple days off in a row that gets me restless.  But I need the rest for my hip and sore body.”  Scott explained, leaning back into the couch as the drug took effect.

“Ok, do you go to therapy at all?”  Reyes asked, smiling as Scott relaxed back into the easy going man he knew.

“No, I talk to the guys at the firehouse, but they can’t come home with me.  I’ve never really benefited from therapists individual or group.”  Scott explained.

“Alright, how does the fendactyn feel?”  Reyes asked.

“Pretty good actually, I’ve never had something that calmed the tremors down that fast or at all for that matter.”  Scott said, smiling.

“Good, they make that in a prescription, pill or injection.  I think that with your anxiety meds it will do the trick to calm down the sharp reactions to the multiple stimuli.  We would be happy to transport you to your doctor if you wanted to go today, I think it would really help you to get on it as soon as possible.”  Reyes explained carefully, hoping to convince the man without a fight.

“Ok, let me call someone to pick me up, and I’ll actually get dressed.”  Scott said, moving to get up.

“I get off shift in a few hours if you want to just catch a ride with me.  Do you have a doctor at central medical?”  Reyes offered.

“Dr. T’Perro.”  Scott said, standing up and walking back to his bedroom. 

“Liam, do me a favor and notify the hospital that Scott Ryder needs an appointment with Dr. T’Perro for a medication consultation.”  Reyes radioed. 

“10-4, are you coming out soon?”  Liam asked.

“Yeah, five minutes.”  Reyes said.

Scott walked out a few minutes later dressed in pair of jogging pants with his leather jacket over his station shirt.  Grabbing his wallet, keys, and phone, Scott took a last look at his apartment and nodded to the paramedic.  Reyes smiled, grabbing his bag before leading him out with a steady hand on his back. 

Liam smiled as he picked himself off the floor taking the lead to the ambulance, not wanting to place an unknown behind Scott.  Reyes helped him into the back of the vehicle as Liam jumped in the driver’s seat. 

“We’re not going to walk you in on the stretcher, but you do have to be buckled down on it for the ride.”  Reyes explained, smiling apologetically.

“Sure.”  Scott said, sitting down on the stretcher and lying back to allow Reyes to strap him in. 

“I’m gonna file a complaint with your apartment complex, those floors made my ass go numb.”  Liam called from the front seat.

“Good luck with that, they still haven’t fixed my heater and I filed that work order months ago.”  Scott said, smirking as Liam let out a laugh, pulling onto the roadway.

Reyes smirked as they pulled into the hospital driveway.  Unstrapping Scott, he helped the man off the steps of the ambulance before meeting Dr. T’Perro at the doorway to the main wing of the hospital.  The shorter brown haired, dark skinned woman gave Scott a look that had him half hiding behind the paramedic. 

“We should have had this appointment eight months ago when your anxiety meds ran out Scott.”  The doctor said, crossing her arms as Scott hung his head, feeling Reyes attention on him.

“I thought you said one month?”  Reyes asked, a calm smile playing on his face.

“Sorry.”  Scott mumbled, running a hand over his trembling arm, fearing that he had just lost all the trust the man had placed in him until Reyes placed a gentle hand on the one trying to control his tremors.

“It’s ok, these things aren’t easy.  I’ll meet you after.”  Reyes said, dropping his hand.

“Come on Scott, thank you Reyes.”  The doctor said, smiling as she placed a gentle hand on Scott’s back and lead the sulking man back to her office. 

She motioned for him to take a seat on the exam bed, pulling his chart off the counter to glance through it again as he made himself comfortable in the dull room.  

“Eight months, we had a good plan going what happened?”  T’Perro asked, taking a seat on the low swivel seat.

“I just wanted to be normal, not a medicated head case.  I don’t know Lexi.”  Scott said, rubbing at his sore eyes.

“Being normal stopped the minute you got hit by that truck, this is you now Scott and you have to accept it and move forward.  Let’s manage the bad parts and give you the life you deserve.”  Lexi said, handing the man a tissue.

“I know, how can I get back on track?”  Scott whispered, sniffling slightly.

“First we need to get you back on your medication regiment.”  Lexi said, flipping through a few pages in his file.

“Reyes gave me Fendactyn that seemed to help the tremors.”  Scott offered.

“Would you rather have it in pills or injections?  The injections would be faster in effect, but pills would be easier overall.”  Lexi asked.

“Pills please.”  Scott said.

“Ok, that and the anxiety meds with your usual pain medication should be good for now.  Do you have anything you want to talk to me about that happened in the last eight months so I can get an idea where your head is?”  Lexi asked, replacing his file with her notepad for him.

“I, I got a boyfriend.”  Scott muttered.

“So I’ll have another rut to talk you out of in a few months.”  Lexi said, flipping her pencil back and forth.

“Actually, I’m dating a fellow first responder.”  Scott said, causing Lexi to stop and look at him fully.

“May I ask who and what job he has?”  Lexi asked, smiling warmly at him as he relaxed.

“It’s Reyes.”  Scott said.

“Really now?  And how did you two meet?”  Lexi asked.

“It was the structure fire a few months ago where I fell through the roof.  I got put in his ambulance, he made me laugh and forget about my busted hip all the way to the hospital.  Things developed, we met a few more times as our jobs crossed, and we ended up going out to dinner.  He’s seen me vulnerable in more ways than one, and he’s only responded with kindness and understanding.”  Scott explained.

“I’m happy for you Scott.  You might not know it, but Reyes is one of the top mental health paramedics on the force.  He comes to the mental wing of the hospital to work with patients in his off time to help them and perfect his skills for the streets.  That way he knows that signs and cues to different disorders, like yours.”  Lexi explained, as Scott’s eyes went wide.

“So the whole time in my apartment, he was looking at a patient.”  Scott said, semi disheartened.

“Talk me through what happened before they transported you, I have a feeling Reyes treated you much more than a patient Scott.”  Lexi said.

“He came into my apartment after the police had shown up.”  Scott started.

“Let me guess.  He came in alone, never turned his back to you, and held his hands where you could see them at all times.”  Lexi said as Scott nodded.

“He asked to sit in the chair in front of me, and put his back between us and opened it so that I could watch exactly what he was doing.  Then he asked what was going on and I trusted him enough to tell him what my nightmare was about and broke down a little.  He came over and sat next to me, asking if I trusted him.  When I nodded he brought took my right hand in his and placed his left on my back before pulling me toward him.  It’s the safest I’ve felt in a long time, and I cried hard for a few minutes.”  Scott explained, moving to wipe his eyes again.

“He never gets near patients Scott, he took a risk coming into your personal space when you were that worked up.  He was willing to take that risk because you mean something to him, more than another patient.”  Lexi explained.

“After that he gave me the medication and asked me about how I normally cope with my disorder.  He advised that I come get my prescription back on track with the muscle relaxer and for the first time I didn’t fight a medical professional over going to the hospital.”  Scott finished.

“I think this is going to be a turning point for you, having someone that knows the in and out of PTSD as your trusted romantic partner.  It’s a combination you need, and it’s going to do miracles for your mental health.”  Lexi said, practically giddy as Scott chuckled. 

“Well he has seen me naked already, for medical purposes he assured.”  Scott said, laughing under his breath.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh in this office, carefree without anything weighing it down.  He’s a keeper.”  Lexi said.

“You did most of the work to get me here doc.”  Scott said.

“But I can’t be there with you on the hard days Scott, that’s up to you and him now.  Let yourself be happy with him, you deserve it.”  Lexi said.

“I should probably get going, I’m sure you were busy before I showed up out of the blue.”  Scott said, hopping off the table.

“Trust me I’d rather talk to you over most of my other patients.  Have a good night, here are your medication slips make sure to follow the instructions on the bottles and see me in a month for a checkup.  And tell Reyes thank you for me.”  Lexi said as she escorted him to the pharmacy before leaving.

As he waited for his prescription to be filled Reyes came around the corner from the locker rooms, smiling in his jeans and light grey hoodies with a backpack over his shoulder.  Thanking the pharmacy technician, he followed Reyes to his dark green truck.  Reyes unlocked the doors and settled himself in stowing his backpack and buckling himself as Scott followed.

“How was your appointment?”  Reyes asked, glancing behind him as he backed out of the small parking lot for employees.

“Good, we talked about medication and what’s been going on in the time that I missed.”  Scott answered, glancing in the small white bag at his two new pill bottles.

“I’m glad we were able to help you, not the call I wanted but it was nice to help someone I care about.”  Reyes said, reaching over a hand to intertwine their fingers.

“Lexi says thank you by the way, for all the good you do dating me.”  Scott said, eyes lazily fixed on their hands.

“You’ve helped me too, daydreaming about a certain man takes the edge off the bad calls.”  Reyes said, glancing over to meet Scott’s timid smile.

“I didn’t know you specialized in mental health.”  Scott said.

“I needed to find a skill that would add to our effectiveness, and after dozens of hairy mental disorder calls I knew we needed a system to properly handle patients.  So I learned and soon enough I could walk into a situation and have it deescalated without police intervention.  Word spread and more and more patients started agreeing to seek help or be transported.  Sure there are days that my patience wears thin, but I love helping people fight their demons that a bandage can’t reach.”  Reyes explained, squeezing Scott’s hand a little tighter.

“You’re amazing.”  Scott muttered.

“Don’t sell yourself short, 99% of firefighters will do their duty but the 1% will go beyond that and do extraordinary things.  You didn’t have to go in that building seventeen times, and you sure as hell didn’t have to give me your rebreather when you pulled me out of my apartment.  I feel safe around you because you’re good at protecting people.  I have it hard wired into my brain to look over my shoulder and fear everything because of the dangers I face as a paramedic.  With you I forget it entirely.”  Reyes said, pulling into a parking spot by Scott’s apartment, wiping tears out of his eyes.

“Do you wanna come up, I can order pizza.”  Scott offered, almost knocked back by the admission of Reyes.

“I should let you rest.”  Reyes said.

“Do you work tomorrow?”  Scott asked, ignoring the man’s previous sentence.

“No, but I…”  Reyes started before Scott squeezed his hand.

“Stay the night, I think we could both use the company.”  Scott asked, smiling warmly at the man.

“I don’t have any clothes, or…”  Reyes stammered.

“I have extras, we generally have a few spared just in case we have to brush on the go.  Reyes, trust me.”  Scott whispered, running his thumb over the back of the man’s hand.

“Ok, just, I need to tell you something when we get inside.”  Reyes said as Scott nodded and lead him up to his apartment.

A few of his neighbors exchanged greetings, apologizing for calling the police, but glad to learn that the man was back on track.  Reyes stuck close to his side, concerning Scott as he had never seen him uncomfortable with him before.  Dialing the pizza place down the street, Scott ordered dinner as Reyes took a seat on the couch.  As soon as he hung up, Scott took a seat next to him.

“What did you want to tell me?”  Scott asked, offering his hand for Reyes to take which he did.

“If we ever got physically romantic in our relationship, I have some things I’m self-conscious about that were deal breakers for pervious boyfriends.”  Reyes whispered, not meeting Scott’s eyes as the man gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Tell me about them.”  Scott said.

“The crash I was in, it left some burns on my back that scarred.  They’re just a dead zone of nerves that give me back pain every now and then.  I’m not exactly gifted in my physique or other things.  No one really stuck around because of it.”  Reyes admitted, mentally begging himself to stop turning red with embarrassment.

“You’re perfect to me, I shove my ash covered boot up the ass of anyone that made you believe different.  You tell me your limits and I’ll respect them.”  Scott said.

“Thank you, I’ll just need the reassurance when we get to that point.”  Reyes said as the doorbell rang.

Scott quickly hopped to his feet, paying for the food before bringing it and some drinks to the table in front of the couch.  After they ate and night descended over the city Reyes fears picked up again as they made their way back to the bedroom. 

It was too uncomfortable for him to sleep in anything more than boxers, but he didn’t fancy the idea of being that exposed to Scott.  The fireman on the other hand wasted no time stripping down to his plaid boxers and tossing his clothes in his hamper.  He was about to crawl into bed when he noticed the nervous paramedic standing at the foot of the mattress, fidgeting.

“Reyes, I don’t care about what you look like under your clothes.  I only need what’s here and here.”  Scott said walking over to caress the man’s cheek and run a hand over his heart. 

Reyes nodded, still not making a move to undress too fearful of the rejection he had gotten in a handful of bedrooms just like this one.  Scott sighed, reaching a gentle hand up to cup the paramedic’s cheek.

“Do you trust me?”  Scott asked, vibrant blue meeting warm brown.

“Yes.”  Reyes whispered.

Scott smiled reaching behind the man to turn off the bedroom light, plunging the room into darkness only illuminated by the orange glow of the street lights below.  Keeping his eyes on the man’s face, Scott reached down to the hem of his shirt and pulled the cloth over his head. 

Reyes shrunk slightly, ready for rejection.  But to his surprise what he got was a warm, gentle hand rubbing its way over his chest, and then over and down his back.  As one hand teased the line between skin and burned tissues the other worked his belt buckle and zipper until his jeans piled around his ankles. 

“Here, your turn.”  Scott said.

Grabbing one of Reyes trembling hands to place on the skin of his raised and brutally scarred hip.  Little by little the paramedic traced the harsh lines with his hand, bringing his other to inspect a few newer burns on his collarbone. 

Without a word Scott pulled him back into the bed, one hand gently maneuvering him onto his side as he pressed his chest flush with the man’s back.  Pulling the covers around them, Scott let out a content sigh as he felt Reyes relax against him.

“You’re safe Reyes, I promise.”  Scott whispered.

“I know.”  Reyes said, relishing the warmth behind him as he drifted off.

-

Reyes yawned, stretching out his sore muscles in the soft sheets he was coddled in.  Cracking open his eyes, he was met with the dim morning light of the city filtering through unfamiliar curtains.  He could feel his heart jumping in his chest as he tried to place where he was, if he had made a mistake.

“Morning.”  Scott whispered, tightening his arm that was still around the paramedic’s waist.

His body immediately relaxed and went pliant against the firefighter’s chest.  For once in his life, he felt comfortable the night after sleeping with a partner.  Turning around in Scott’s hold he pushed the man to lay on his back as Reyes laid his head on the man’s chest. 

“Morning.”  Reyes replied, smiling as Scott ran a gentle hand up his back.

“Did you sleep ok?”  Scott asked.

“Yeah, best night sleep I’ve had after a hard shift in a while.”  Reyes said, peaking up to see the relaxed smiled on the man’s face.

“This is the first night in a few months that I haven’t woken up shaking, I thought it was dream at first.”  Scott said.

“We’re good for each other aren’t we?”  Reyes asked, running a finger over Scott’s defined abs.

“I wouldn’t mind waking up every morning like this if that’s what you’re asking.”  Scott chuckled, flinching slightly as Reyes found a ticklish spot.

“It might be a little early to ask this, but I live in a house in Alder hills.  I know were still progressing in our relationship, but maybe in a few months we could talk about living together.”  Reyes offered.

“I’d like that.”  Scott said.

-

“Dispatch to truck one.”  The radio chimed as the four men inside groaned.

They were 18 hours into their 24 hour shift and they hadn’t been back to the station in ten hours thanks to call after call after call. 

“Go ahead.”  Vince answered from the passenger seat, head leaned back against the seat.

“We have a MVA with extrication needed on Harlow and Minot.”  Dispatch explained.

“10-4, we’re on our way, ETA five minutes.”  Vince answered as Marcus hit the gas.

Scott readied himself to grab the tools they would need to pry whoever it was out of their vehicle.  That was his specialty, he still held the state record for the firefighter games of getting the ‘victim’ out the quickest.  It was no different on the street, when you needed an injured person out of their vehicle you called truck one and gave the lead to Scott. 

Glancing out the window he was met with a SUV upright, front smashed in trapping a younger woman behind her driver’s door, and roof.  Reyes and Jaal were there with a stretcher and backboard trying to calm the trapped victim.  A red truck had a man beside it partaking in sobriety tests for the police, a thought that made Scott’s blood boil.

Abandoning that train of thought he jumped out of the truck and opened the side door of the truck to get out his crate of tools.  Running over to the car he stood a few feet away, looking over the best way to tear apart the woman’s cage before getting to work. 

“Marcus I need light.”  Scott said, powering up the Jaws of Life tool.

Marcus nodded grabbing a spotlight from the box and training it on the door hinge that Scott was going after.  He lined up the tool with the side of the door and activated it, within minutes there was a clean slice through the door.  Without a word Scott set the tool down and grabbed the door yanking until it came free and clattered to the ground. 

“Get a blanket over her, I need to cut the top off.”  Scott ordered as he picked up the tool again.

Jaal nodded, kneeling next to the frightened woman and covering her with a blanket as Scott worked.  In moments all four supports of the roof were severed as the rest of truck one removed the roof.  As they worked on that Scott tore out everything he could reach that was trapping the woman’s legs until the paramedics had room to work. 

“Thank you.”  The woman whimpered, glancing toward Scott as she was loaded onto the stretcher, Reyes securing her.

“Always a good day when I get to save a pretty woman such as yourself, take care.”  Scott said, smirking under his layer of dust and grime.

Reyes shook his head at him and smirked as he loaded the woman into the ambulance and signaled for Jaal to take the wheel to the hospital.  The woman was much calmer in the light of the vehicle as Reyes worked on stabilizing her and documenting her injuries for the trauma team.

“I didn’t know those tools worked that fast.”  She muttered, wincing as Reyes strapped her battered legs into two splints.

“He’s better with them than most firefighters.”  Reyes explained, feeling along her bruised arm for a vein.

“Was he flirting with me, or does he do that to everyone he saves?”  She asked, cringing as the bumping streets rocked the vehicle.

“Well he’s actually my boyfriend, so I hope he doesn’t do that too often.”  Reyes mused, causing the woman to laugh and relax.

“That’s amazing, that just made this night so much better.”  The woman said, smirking as Reyes nodded.

-

Reyes hummed as the cold water from the garden hose in his hand washed away the grime off the ambulance.  Checking his watch he noted it was almost time to end his twenty hour shift, just two more hours and he could relax with his slippers and a nice cup of warm tea on a cool day in November. 

Scott still had four hours left in his shift since they worked on 4am and 8am time clocks.  He had already seen the man on four of his twelve calls.  Tired and sore, but still making sure to send him a smile any time they crossed paths. 

In the last few months their relationship had progressed to the point at which Scott was now living with Reyes.  Together in his small home in Alder hills they lived a fairly peaceful life.  Having someone close at night helped with both of their nightmares.  Scott had turned out to be a chef in disguise, preparing whole meals in an hour tops.  It was nauseatingly domestic in the firefighter’s own words, but that didn’t stop the small smiles that crossed his face. 

Reyes made sure that he kept up with his medication and monthly appointments, even venturing to attend some of them with Scott.  Lexi was more than welcoming to their relationship and was delighted any time the firefighter walked in with Reyes on his arm.  Scott would smile shyly, leaning against the man, hands intertwined as the hour flew by. 

“Reyes, we got a call.”  Liam said, patting him on the back as he jumped into the driver’s seat.

Reyes nodded, snapping himself out of his dreaming.  God he really was domestic wasn’t he, daydreaming about their home life while washing a truck at work.  He would have to tease Scott about it when he got home, but for now he needed to switch back into the paramedic mindset.

“What is it?”  Reyes asked, buckling himself in the back seat of the ambulance.

“Three story structure fire on 18th, the firefighters requested support.  Dispatch said it was an electrical issue in one of the apartments.”  Liam said.

Reyes nodded, standing up to grab onto the ceiling rail so that he could make sure all of the systems and supplies were in check.  Apartments were one of the worst places for fire calls considering the amount of people that could be asleep insides, especially when it was barely two is in the morning.  When they pulled up to the building he could already see two fire engines responding to the call.  A group of people dressed in varying degrees of pajamas were stood on the opposite sidewalk watching the apartment blaze in front of them. 

“Truck two suppress from the third floor down, truck one team one clear the building.”  Cora ordered, already setting up her pop up table of notes and placement of her firefighters.

Reyes watched as the crews went into the building, breaking windows and spraying foam.  He and Liam worked their way through the people gathered on the sidewalk, making sure no one was injured.  They were almost through the people when a women frantically grabbed his shoulder.

“Please sir, my son is still in there.  You have to tell someone.  I live on the second floor in apartment 253.”  The young woman pleaded, and as Reyes recognized the same woman Scott had cut out of the vehicle just months ago.

“I’m on it ma’am, don’t worry.”  Reyes said, jogging over to Cora.

“What is it Reyes, kind of busy right now.”  Cora said, pulling one side of her head set off to listen to him.

“There’s a woman whose son is still in there, second floor, apartment 253.”  Reyes said as Cora nodded.

“Got it.”  Cora said, putting her headset back on.  “Team one we have a boy in the building, second floor, 253.” 

Scott nodded as he got the call on the radio, tapping Marcus on the shoulder and signaling toward the stairs.  They had already cleared the first floor through all of the thick black smoke and were heading to the second floor.  Once they reached the door they could see the smoke get thicker and water dripping from where truck two was soaking the third floor. 

He ran ahead as Marcus checked room by room.  Reaching room 253 he tried to open the door only to find it locked.  Sighing he took the small sledge hammer off his belt and slammed it into the handle until it splintered open. 

The room was filled with smoke.  Marcus had the thermal scanner so he searched every inch of the apartment at a slow pace until he reached the back bedroom.  That’s where he noticed a shaking form in the corner of the room.  A small boy, probably old enough to be in high school was cowering against the nightstand, towel over his mouth. 

“Hey kid, you’re gonna be ok.”  Scott said, kneeling down next to the boy to wrap him in a fireproof blanket. 

The boy nodded, crawling forward into the safety of the firefighter.  Scott smiled, taking off his rebreather and strapping it around the boy’s mouth he pulled his jacket over his mouth.  Taking the boy in his arms, he made his way out of the room, the boy tucking his head against his shoulder.  He signaled Marcus that he was going out and jogged down the stairs.

Once he was outside he looked for a medical team to check out the boy who was still shaking, attached to his shoulder.  Scott rubbed his trembling back, catching the eye of Reyes who waved him over.  Jogging over to the ambulance he stepped inside and lowered the boy onto the clean stretcher. 

“You’re safe now, my friend Reyes is going to take care of you ok?”  Scott whispered taking his rebreather back and hanging it back over his shoulder.

“Ok, thank you.”  The boy whimpered, hugging Scott tight before lying back on the bed.

Scott nodded, slipping out the back door so that Reyes could work without Scott’s soot covered form causing any more irritation to the sanitized area.  Just as he was about to walk back toward the fire a woman caught his arm.  The same woman he had cut out from the car, trapping him in a tight hug.

“Thank you, thank you so much for saving my son.”  The woman cried.

“All in a day’s work, it’s nice to see that you’re in good health as well.”  Scott said, hugging her back.

“Thanks to you, and your boyfriend of course.”  She said, smiling as Scott laughed.

“We make a good team.  I’m Scott by the way, that man taking care of your son is Reyes.  I’m sure he’ll let you sit in the warm truck while he looks over…”  Scott said.

“David, I’m Jessica, thank you and be safe.”  She said, walking toward the ambulance.

Reyes smiled wiping off the soot from the boy’s face and hands.  He had an oxygen mask and vital monitors under his shirt, relaxed in the safety of the truck.  Just as he went to check the monitor, a knock came on the back door.  Sliding to the side he opened the door to reveal the boy’s mothers.

“Can I sit with him?”  She asked, rubbing her cold arms in just a sweatshirt.

“Of course, close the door when you come in.”  Reyes asked as slid back over to monitor the boy.

“Hi David.”  She said, smiling as he put his thumb up.

“Hi mom.”  He coughed.

“He’ll need about fifteen minutes to let the oxygen diffuse the smoke he inhaled and then we can see if he needs to be transported to the hospital or not.  He’s doing well, worst case is that he might develop an upper respiratory infection with the smoke and exposure to the cold.”  Reyes explained, gently inserting an IV into the boy’s arm.

“I really can’t thank you enough for what you and Scott have done for our family, David the firefighter that saved you and Reyes here are the same people that helped me when I got in that wreck a few months ago.”  She explained.

“Of course, it’s why we do what we do.”  Reyes said, smiling as the side door opened to the ambulance. 

Scott’s sweaty head peaked through the door, smiling in just his work shirt and suspended pants.

“Hey, how’s he doing?”  Scott asked, accepting a towel from the paramedic to wipe his blacked face and hair.

“Good.”  Reyes answered, smirking up at the man.

“Nice, how old are you David?”  Scott asked, taking a seat in the chair behind the stretcher.

“Seventeen.”  David rasped.

“What are you planning to do after you graduate school?”  Scott asked, watching Reyes monitor that boy’s vitals.

“I don’t know.”  David said, coughing roughly into the mask.

“You’re such a liar, he wants to be an emergency responder.”  Jessica said, causing David to smile shyly and glance away from Reyes. 

“You don’t want to go to college or any of that?”  Reyes asked, adjusting the mixture of the IV, frowning at the monitors.

“No, I just want to help people that need it.”  David said quietly.

“Well I’m sure we could get you started if you wanted to.  You’re old enough to start getting certified.”  Scott said, yawning into his arm as he leaned back into the seat.

“Really?”  David said, coughing slightly as his excitement got the better of his breathing.

“Of course, just come by station fourteen and we’ll set you up.”  Scott said, patting his shoulder.

Jessica smiled gratefully at the firefighter who had gotten her son to smile more than he had in a while since losing his father to cancer just a few years ago.  Her eyes drifted to Reyes who kept frowning at the vitals monitor and checking the nozzle on the oxygen tank.

“I think we’re going to need to transport him, his oxygen levels aren’t going where I want them to be.  He might have a blockage from some condensed smoke residue that we need to check out.  Rather be safe than sorry.”  Reyes said, rubbing the boy’s arm as he tensed.

“You’ll be just fine, if it is a blockage the team at the hospital will have it out pretty quick.  They do a good job when it happens with us so don’t worry.”  Scott comforted, squeezing the boy’s shoulder.

“It hurts, I can’t get a good breath in.”  David said, starting to panic slightly.

“I know, just focus on getting what air you can and we’ll get you to the hospital.”  Reyes said, leaning his head and grabbing his radio.  “Liam I need you in the driver’s seat.”

“I gotta get back to it, feel better David.  I’ll see you in a few hours.”  Scott said, patting Reyes on the shoulder as he stepped out of the vehicle.

-

Reyes yawned, quietly sipping his warm tea as he watched the morning news.  He was waiting for Scott to get off work so that they could finally get some sleep after their long shifts, only to do it again in a few days.  At least the boy from his last call had turned out alright, only a blockage that the trauma team had cleared within minutes. 

The door opening snapped him out of his thoughts as Scott walked in, bundled in his jacket and sweat pants as he dropped his backpack and duffle of gear beside the laundry room.  Hanging up his jacket he smiled tiredly at the paramedic, walking over to plop down on the couch beside him. 

“Time for bed.”  Scott grumbled, leaning in Reyes side.

“You need to take you meds first.”  Reyes said, leaning into kiss the man briefly before moving to stand. 

Scott groaned dramatically, stumbling to his feet to grab his pill box.  Swallowing the two small pills from the morning box he tucked the plastic container into the cabinet before following Reyes back to the bedroom. 

The man was already back there, closing the shades, dressed in just his boxer briefs.  Scott smirked, admiring the view before stripping down and changing his own undergarments.  A near silent cat call had him laughing under his breath as he turned to find Reyes on the bed, smirking deviously.

“I thought you were tired.”  Scott said, crawling up the bed until he was positioned above Reyes, leaning down to capture his lips in a lazy kiss.

“I may have some energy to enjoy a certain sexy firefighter’s attention.”  Reyes purred, running his fingers along the man’s waistband.

“Maybe after a nap.”  Scott said, letting himself plop down half on top of the man earning a yelp.

“Love you.”  Reyes whispered, pulling the blankets up and around them.

“Love you too.”  Scott mumbled.

-

“Ready?”  Scott asked, slipping his arms around Reyes waist as the man attempted to style his hair into position.

“Almost, did you take your meds for the night?”  Reyes asked, earning a huff from the man.

“Yes, now come on you look great.”  Scott said, kissing his temple before going back to leaning his chin on the man’s shoulder.

Reyes was dressed in a pair of simple jeans and a crimson button up, while Scott wore a darker set of jeans with a blue polo adorned with his name stitched over his left breast along with the station symbol on the back. 

They were on their way to the annual thanksgiving dinner at the fire station and it was the first time Scott had anyone to show off to his family at the station.  Usually he was coming off a bad relationship or a year of going it alone.  But this year he had someone closer than ever, and he was ready to have him meet the people that had grown to be his only family after separating from his biological one.

“You’re so impatient.”  Reyes huffed, pinning his hair back with one more swipe of gel before relenting to the man behind him.

“I’m excited.”  Scott said, kissing Reyes on the lips before grabbing his jacket.

“Really now?  I couldn’t tell.”  Reyes teased, humming in content as Scott wrapped an arm around his waist and lead him to the truck. 

“Look, you’re the first one I’ve really liked.  And the first one I’ve brought to this dinner.  It’s like bringing home someone to meet my family.”  Scott said after they had gotten settled in the truck, Scott backing out onto the road.

“And if they don’t like me?”  Reyes found himself asking.

“Trust me, they will.”  Scott reassured, turning into the station parking lot after a few minutes of driving the busy streets of the city.

Reyes slotted himself back into Scott’s side as they walked into the station.  The garage was converted into a dining hall with food, and play areas for the children.  There were about a dozen tables littered with coats, diaper bags, or purses.  Most were in the process of filling up their plates from the food table in the back corner.  Scott pulled him over to set their coats next to Cora and Mitch, an older firefighter that trained the new guys and educated the pubic on fire safety. 

“This is pretty cool, we don’t really have the space to do anything like this.”  Reyes commented as they got up to get food.

“Yeah, and this is just this station’s firefighters.”  Scott said as they made their way back to their seats.

“Scotty, finally brought someone to dinner huh?”  Mitch asked as they sat down, smiling behind his handlebar mustache.

“Yep, Mitch this is Reyes my boyfriend.  Reyes this is Mitch, the guy who taught me everything I know in firefighting.”  Scott explained.

“It’s nice to meet you.”  Reyes said, extending his hand.

“Boyfriend huh, you best be treating my boy right, not like them other fuckers who you dated before.”  Mitch said, shaking his hand briefly.

“He’s much better than them.”  Scott said, reaching down a hand to grasp Reyes shaking one under the table.

“I hope so.  Where do you work then Reyes?”  Mitch asked, glancing up from his dinner.

“I’m a paramedic for this side of town, medic 10-2.”  Reyes said, taking a bite of his turkey.

Just as Mitch was about to respond someone tapped a microphone in front of the gathered families.  Cora stood in front of the tables, smiling in her cargo pants and polo as she waited for the room to quiet down before addressing the crowd.

“Welcome everyone to the annual thanksgiving feast of station fourteen.  We have a lot to be thankful for this year; station fourteen’s crews have responded to hundreds of calls and have had saved countess people and properties.  We have had a few crew injuries, looking at Mr. Fall through an apartment complex back there, but nothing serious.  I can’t tell you how honored I am to be the field supervisor for this station, and would like to turn it over to Marcus to do the annual family appreciations.”  Cora said, earning a round of applause as she sat down, Scott glaring playfully at her.

“Hi everyone, as you know I have been in charge of welcoming the new members to our growing family this thanksgiving.  Starting with three new babies, Tasha, Marty, and Harden.  Three more trouble makers for this station.”  Marcus started, earning a few laughs as attention focused on Vince’s triplets.

“Next we have a special bit of news, Scotty finally brought someone to meet us.  His boyfriend Reyes of the last few months who is the paramedic that took a liking to Scott after his fall.  I didn’t know before threatening him that he was going to become the best thing to enter Scott’s life in all the years that I’ve known him.  Seriously he won’t shut up about you.  Welcome to the family Reyes.”  Marcus finished raising his soda can as applause rang out.

“You did this didn’t you?”  Reyes hissed, smiling shyly as he leaned against Scott.

“They did, but I’m not disputing it.”  Scott said, leaning over to kiss him on the lips lovingly.

“You two are so sappy, I’m going to get cavities just by sitting here.”  Cora complained.

“Oh, you love it miss romance novels.”  Scott teased earning a slap from his supervisor.

“You kids are nauseating.”  Mitch grumbled, leaning back in his chair.  “You said you were a paramedic Reyes?” 

“Yeah, it’s been about five years now.”  Reyes explained, taking the last few bites of his potatoes.

“Almost as long as you Scotty.”  Mitch said, smiling at the young firefighter.

“Almost, but I had the marines and a few months of therapy to thank for that delay.”  Scott said.

Mitch nodded as he glanced toward the table in thought.  Cora and Reyes made a move to stand and go get some desert, leaving the two alone.  Mitch tapped the table absentmindedly, glancing up at Scott who was picking at his plate.

“Your hip still hurting you?”  Mitch asked, leaning forward.

“A little, my doctor does scans on it every six months just to make sure nothing is getting worse.  I have some medication that takes the inflammation down when it gets bad, but it’s manageable.”  Scott explained.

“And you’re talking with Reyes or your doctor to help you mentally?”  Mitch asked.

“Yeah, I moved in with Reyes and it really helped sleeping with someone I trust.  He keeps me on top of my meds and we remind each other that the past is in the past.”  Scott explained, smiling as he fidgeted with his fork.

“I’m glad you found someone who does that, it’s nice to see you this happy.  Especially when I think about how you were when you first came through that door.”  Mitch said, smiling as Reyes and Cora sat back down.

“Are you about ready to dance Scott?”  Cora asked, smirking as Scott scowled at her.

“I don’t dance Cora.”  Scott mumbled earning a chuckle from Mitch.

Reyes furled his brow as music started flowing out of the speakers in the other corner of the garage.  Scott groaned, setting his head on the table as Cora and Mitch chuckled under their breaths.

“Come on.”  Reyes said, grabbing Scott’s arm and hauling him to his feet. 

A slow song was playing in the background as Reyes pulled Scott into his arms.  The firefighter was stiff and clumsy in his movements as the paramedic’s arms guided him from the waist. 

“Relax, put your arms around my shoulders and just sway.  I have a feeling you can dance.”  Reyes whispered.

Scott nodded, slipping his arms around the man’s neck, letting the paramedic take the lead.  They swayed for the remainder of the song, Scott forgetting his troubles and getting into the rhythm of the music.  As the song ended another one came on, a fast paced song that had Reyes smirking.

“I bet those hips can move just as good on the dance floor as they do in our bedroom.”  Reyes whispered, his voice a sultry velvet in Scott’s ears.

“You are the worst.”  Scott laughed under his breath as he split away from the man.

“But you love me, now dance.”  Reyes said, letting his hips gyrate to the low beat as the chorus of the music started.

Scott smirked, copying the man’s movements himself, adding a little extra arm flare.  Reyes laughed, taking in every second of the man’s enticing movements.  Scott almost seemed to lose himself to the music, eyes finding Reyes after the song ended. 

“And you said you couldn’t dance.”  Reyes said, smiling warmly as he pecked him on the cheek.

“Never said I couldn’t, just that I don’t.  I didn’t want to after how badly I hurt my hip, I guess I still got it huh?”  Scott said, letting Reyes lead them back to the table.

“Where was that hiding?”  Cora exclaimed, taking a sip of her drink.

“Locked behind all of my insecurities.”  Scott deadpanned earning a chuckle from the woman.

“Glad to see you found your key, good work Reyes.”  Cora said, sending him an appreciative smile.

“Well it’s getting late, you kids should get home before it gets icy out.  Wouldn’t want a call like that tonight.”  Mitch said, hugging the trio before leaving.

-

Scott coughed, groaning as he buried in his arms.  He was only four hours into his shift and he felt like absolute garbage.  He was sitting in a chair at the station’s kitchen, mentally pleading for his headache to subside.  He was shivering, yet hot at the same time, and it was starting to wear on his nerves since the cold meds that Vince gave him weren’t working.

“Hey, are you feeling any better?”  Cora whispered, taking a seat beside him and rubbing his back gently.

“No.”  Scott groaned, coughing roughing for a good minute before slumping back to the table with a whimper of pain.

“I think you need to go in and get checked out, this is more than just a cold.”  Cora said, smoothing some of his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

“I should be fine.”  Scott said, sitting up abruptly as he struggled to get air in as he coughed and hacked, hand pressed against his chest.

“Shh, relax for me.  I’m calling an ambulance to transport you, you’re not driving.”  Cora said, grabbing her radio from her belt while pulling Scott to lean against her shoulder, hand rubbing his back.

“Ok.”  Scott rasped, wheezing weakly.

“Suvi, can I get you to send an ambulance to the station for a firefighter with breathing difficulties.”  Cora asked.

“10-4 station fourteen, we’ll have one to you in five to ten minutes.”  Suvi responded, cheery as always.

“Thank you.”  Cora said, returning her focus to Scott who was leaning back down on the table, breathing shallow.

She should have sent him in hours ago.  He had come into work with a bad cough and fever, but insisted on taking his usual shift.  Throughout the three calls they had had, Scott had gotten worse and worse.  It wasn’t out of the norm for firefighters to get respiratory infections, but they were often worse than something a civilian would get.  And with the high risk of lung cancer among firefighters, they needed to make sure it wasn’t anything worse than what they thought. 

“How are you doing Scott?”  Cora asked.

“Chest, hurts.”  Scott groaned, coughing roughly and sitting up to look for a garbage can. 

Cora cringed as pink tinged phlegm came up and hit the bottom of the plastic can.  Glancing up as the door opened she was met with the Liam pushing the stretcher behind Reyes.  Scott smiled, coughing into the trashcan as Reyes took the seat beside him.

“What are you feeling Scott?”  Reyes asked, pulling down his stethoscope to slide it under the back of Scott’s shirt. 

“Chest, hurts.  Fever, chills.”  Scott rasped, wheezing as Reyes moved the tool to the front of this chest.

“Ok, take a deep breath for me.”  Reyes said.

Scott breathed in only about a quarter of his usual capacity before whimpering and dissolving into a coughing fit.  Reyes cursed under his breath as Liam moved in and placed an oxygen mask on Scott’s face. 

“He’s got some major fluid buildup, Scott I need you to slide onto the stretcher.”  Reyes said, helping the weak man slide from his chair to the low bed.

Reyes and Liam worked to pull off Scott’s heavy pants and shirt.  Cora took his clothes as they tucked a blanket around his body and secured his head with a padded brace.  Liam raised the bed to its full height, making sure that Scott was secure under the straps before pushing him toward the ambulance outside.

“I’ll call with updates, but I would put my money on pneumonia with the fluid and his symptoms.”  Reyes said.

“Ok, thank you for taking care of him.”  Cora said, following them to the sidewalk.

“Of course, I guess I might have to take some time off to look after him if it’s as bad as I think it is.”  Reyes said, hugging Cora before helping Liam load Scott into the back of the truck.

Reyes took his seat on the padded bench beside the stretcher.  Liam was buckling himself to drive as he hooked up the EKG monitor and finger clip to his chest and finger.  Scott coughed weakly into the mask, watching Reyes out of the corner of his eye as he stared at his vital monitors.

“Low blood pressure, high heart rate.  I really shouldn’t have let you leave the house this morning.”  Reyes said, running a thumb over Scott’s clammy wrist.

Scott hummed, letting his eyes slip closed as Liam weaved through traffic, lights and sirens going as they rushed to the hospital. 

“Hey, keep your eyes open.”  Reyes said, causing Scott to groan in annoyance as he cracked his eyes back open.  “Don’t give me that look, you can’t fall asleep until we have this under control.”

The firefighter rolled his eyes, smirking at Reyes as he flexed his sore joints.  The paramedic smiled back, leaning forward to look out the windshield as they neared the hospital. 

“We called Lexi, she’s going to be with the team taking care of you.  I love you.”  Reyes said, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead as Liam backed up to the emergency room.

“Love you too.”  Scott mumbled, wincing as they offloaded him to the doors of the hospital.

Reyes helped Liam push Scott through the door, monitoring his vitals the whole way just in case.  Lexi and a team of four nurses and another doctor met them at the doors to the operation center. 

“He’s all yours, notes are on the monitor.  To me it looks like pneumonia from the fever, headache, chills, coughing, and sharp pains in his chest.”  Reyes said nodding to Lexi and patting Scott on the shoulder.

The paramedics and nurses transferred Scott over to a hospital gurney to be taken for scans of his chest.  Reyes and Liam went back to their shift as Lexi and the team treated Scott.  Half an hour of scans later, they diagnosed him with stage two pneumonia. 

The team had worked a breathing tube into his infected lungs and slid another one down to suction out the stagnant fluid.  Scott was out for the count, dosed on pain, antibiotic, and steroid medication.  He would need to be hospitalized for a week or two to monitor his condition down to a stage one before he could recover at home.

Reyes smiled as he took a seat next to the unconscious man, fresh off his shift and tired.  But he needed to make sure his other half was alright, the nagging feeling in his gut not going away ever since they got the call.  Should have listened to his gut when he had seen the man coughing up a storm this morning.

“Hey Reyes, didn’t you just get off?”  Lexi asked, voice quiet as she gently shut the door to the dimly lit room. 

“Yeah, I wanted to check up on him.”  Reyes yawned, running his thumb lazily over the man’s hand.

“We can get you a pullout if you want to stay, he probably won’t be up until tomorrow.”  Lexi offered, checking the tubes and vital monitors.

“Sure, how is he doing?”  Reyes asked, rubbing his eyes as Lexi messages someone on her phone.

“Good, he really needs to rest for the next few weeks so that we can manage the infection.  But otherwise he should be fine.”  Lexi said.

“Thank you for taking care of him.”  Reyes said.

-

“Stop hovering.”  Scott groaned, coughing slightly as he glared up at Reyes from the couch.

“You have pneumonia, I took off time from work, so I’m allowed to hover.”  Reyes said, kissing him on his forehead.

“You didn’t have to, I’ve dealt with this before you know.”  Scott coughed, grabbing for the nose tubes propped on top of his oxygen tank.

“And I bet it didn’t feel good, doesn’t it feel better to have help?”  Reyes asked, gently inserting the shallow nasal tubes and adjusting the tank. 

Scott huffed, leaning his head back into the comfy pillows Reyes had bought.  If he was being honest with himself this felt like five star service compared to how he normally handled his body when he got this sick from his job.  Usually he would have just laid on his old couch and coughed up a storm, getting up every other hour just out of restlessness and boredom.  This was nice, warm tea still steaming on the oak coffee table as he laid on their cushy sectional and just relaxed under some blankets watching movies all day.

“It does yeah, I’m just not used to being this taken care of when I get sick.  Usually it’s me and boxes of takeout to keep me company.”  Scott mumbled, wincing as he adjusted his stiff hip.

“I can only imagine that sight.”  Reyes snickered as he laid down beside the ailing man, head resting on Scott’s shoulder.

“It was fine until I went back to work, hard to explain twenty extra pounds to Cora when she and Mitch gave me a physical.”  Scott said, smiling as Reyes chuckled beside him.

“How long do you usually take before you go back?”  Reyes asked, pulling the blankets over them.

“Few weeks depending on how I feel.  Don’t worry Cora usually keeps me on desk duty for a week after I get back to make sure I’m back up to speed.  How long are you taking off work?”  Scott asked, eyes slipping closed as exhaustion pulled at his weak body.

“As long as you need.”  Reyes mumbled, snuggling into his side.

“I find it hard to believe that they’re letting you take this long off.”  Scott replied, shaky hand grabbing his tea from the table.

“My boss was all too happy to let me take my vacation time that I never use.  Trust me this is the first actual time off that they haven’t forced me to take off, needless to say they were speechless when I requested it.”  Reyes said, flipping through the TV channels.

“Fire departments don’t have that problem, we get sick one way or another, that or hurt something bad enough to need to take a break.  And nearly all of it is considered sick pay by the state, so I’m paid while I’m sitting here on the couch sniffling.”  Scott said, eyes slipping closed as he took the last few sips of his drink.

“That must be nice, should I let you sleep for a while?”  Reyes asked, collecting their dishes and taking them to the sink.

“Do whatever you want, it’s the medication that dictates when I fall asleep.”  Scott yawned, distantly watching the TV as Reyes came to sit beside him.

“Ok, well I’m going to go work on some of my online classes in the office.  Call if you need something.”  Reyes said, kissing the man on the forehead as he stood up to go to their spare room/office space in the house.

“K, have fun.  I’ll just be here, sucking on oxygen and watching hallmark movies.”  Scott mumbled, tucking himself further into the nice warm blankets.

-

Scott ran a few fingers through his unkempt hair in frustration as he looked down the lines of glass cases.  There were only a few weeks until Christmas and he wanted to propose to Reyes when they opened gifts at their house.  He just couldn’t for the life of his find the right pair of rings in the five stores that he had visited today.  Checking his watch he noted that Reyes would be off in six hours, pulled for an extra shift in the busy season.  This would be so much easier if the three sales associates would finish with the other happy couples shopping as well.

“Can I help you find something sir?”  An older woman asked, dressed in a plain grey suit with a Christmas tree pin on her lapel, name plate reading Janel.

“Yeah, I’m looking for engagement rings.”  Scott said, catching the woman’s bright smile.

Without a word she pulled out several catalogues and boxes of model rings, setting them on the counter.

“Tell me about who it is for, I’m sure you two want rings that will be personal to both of you?”  Janel asked, notepad and pen coming out of her pocket.

“His name is Reyes, we’ve been together almost a year now.”  Scott started, flinching hard as someone dropped a heavy box behind them, as well as the metal door slamming closed. 

His world went blank for several minutes, hands clenched on the counter as he closed his eyes and took deep heavy breaths.  When he looked back up expecting a concerned look from Janel all he got was a comforting smile and a tissue for his eyes he hadn’t even noticed were running.

“Veteran?”  Janel asked, stacking the boxes on a small cart along with some other packets.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”  Scott said, rubbing his neck.

“Don’t apologize for it, come I have an office where we can talk away from all the noise.”  Janel said, leading him to a large oak door.

Letting him inside first he took a seat in the nicely cushioned seat in front of her small desk.  She set out the boxes and papers again, settling in her seat after shutting the door.  It all looked so intimidating to him, all the colors, styles, meanings behind everything.  He was starting to think that this may have not been such a good idea in the first place.

“So how did you and Reyes meet?”  Janel asked, pushing some of the papers to the side to meet his eyes.

“Well, I’m a firefighter and he’s a paramedic.  I fell through a few floors on a house fire call and was put in his ambulance.  Little by little we saw each other on calls, had dinner, and he accepted me for who I am now after getting PTSD from an incident overseas.  He means the world to me and I just want this to be perfect, except I have no clue what to do.”  Scott rambled, accepting the offer of tea from the woman.

“That’s certainly a unique story to us, and don’t worry that’s why we’re here, to help you find what’s perfect for you two.  So let’s these out of the equation, I doubt either of you would like extravagant collections.  Did you have a budget?”  Janel asked, moving some of the papers back onto the cart.

“Well, I guess I was looking for the engagement, wedding ring packages that you have.  But honestly I think I’ll go up to twenty thousand for a set, but I don’t know what the usual is.”  Scott admitted.

“I think I may have an idea what we can do for you two.  Here is the men’s unity collection that is developed for same-sex male couples.  There is the unity ring that can have two different colored gems on the single band.  I have a very nice set of stones that I think would fit you two.  One is this red-orange sapphire that changes colors as you turn it, sort of like fire.  The other goes between white, red, and a dull blue for his service.  With a swirling silver band I think it would look amazing for you.  For the engagement ring or rings, it would just be the silver rings with no stones and the colors running through the silver.  All in all it would be a package at twelve thousand that I would knock down to nine for your military service, and the jobs that you two have now, protecting people.  How does that all sound?”  Janel asked as she pulled up a computer generated design of the four rings.

“That looks amazing, and they’ll be ready by Christmas?”  Scott asked, sighing in relief as a weight lifted off his shoulders.

“I can have the engagement rings to you within the week, and the wedding just after the new year.”  Janel said, filling out an order for Scott to sign.

“I can’t thank you enough for helping me with this, you’re definitely better than the other five stores I went to tonight.”  Scott chuckled, tucking the receipt in his coat pocket.

“Of course, I’ll call you when they come in.  Drive safe, and be careful in your work.”  Janel said, walking him to the front door.

He was all smiles as he pulled into his driveway later that night, Reyes already digging into their leftovers on the couch.  The man smiled at him with a forkful of food in his mouth, obviously tired from his long shift.  Scott had a twenty eight hours shift coming up in the morning, working overtime to make sure he had Christmas off from his work.

“Why are you so giddy?”  Reyes asked, instantly slotting himself into Scott’s side after the man plopped down next to him.

“It’s a surprise.”  Scott said, wrapping his arm around the man’s shoulders and kicking his socked feet up on the table.

“You better not be spending a bunch of money on me.”  Reyes warned as he laid his head on the man’s chest.

“Like I have a bunch of money, you’re getting a basket from the dollar store.”  Scott teased, kissing the top of the man’s head.

“Ass.”  Reyes grumbled.

-

“So what are you getting your favorite paramedic for Christmas?”  Cora asked.

They were sitting in two lawn chairs in the garage, waiting for calls six hours into his long shift.  There were only a few days left until the holiday and the rings were tucked safety in his lockbox in the house, combination not known to Reyes. 

“I going to ask him to marry me.”  Scott said plainly causing the woman to cough on her water.

“Holy shit, congrats I guess.  You really think he’s the one and only then?”  Cora asked, coughing slightly.

“Definitely, he’s put up with me for close to a year now.  I’m not going to get that with anyone else.”  Scott said, groaning as the firehouse bell went off. 

They both hopped to their feet, running for the trucks as he slung his coat over his shoulders.  Marcus jumped into the driver’s seat, Vince and the new guy Roland in the back seat while Scott played navigator in the passenger seat.  Cora was in front of them, driving her blazing red current year half ton truck that also held suppression equipment if needed. 

“Structure fire is at the Winchester hotel in the south district, we’re being called for assistance because south district can’t handle how big it’s getting.  I know we don’t exactly get along with that department, but let’s keep it civil and get the situation handled safely.  I’ll deal with Hanson.”  Cora radioed as they turned on the main road, sirens blaring as Marcus raced the truck between holiday shoppers.

They didn’t have a great bond between their departments because of Hanson, that load mouthed fire coordinator that always butted heads with Cora and how she stayed by the books and kept them safe rather than taking risks to save the structures.  It had already been an interesting regional conference when they had gone off on each other on how Cora had handled the rebreather malfunction incident.  Needless to say whenever their two apartments met, it could spark into a battle over things other than the fire very quickly.

As soon as they pulled up it became very apparent why they needed their help.  The hotel was just about totally engulfed in fire, embers drifting dangerously close to the other building in the area.  The southern district’s four engines were barely manage to cool the fire, let alone prevent it from spreading.  Hopping out of the truck Scott cursed under his breath as he put on his gear, already hearing the fighting start between the supervisors.

“You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think that I’m sending my men into that building, we should be evacuating this entire block because 9 to 10 odds says that building is coming down within the hour.”  Cora stated, looking over the schematics to the hotel on her tablet.

“This is my fire and that blaze is best handled from the inside.  Who has more experience with structure fires, not you?”  Hanson said, ordering his men into the inferno.

“Scott, take truck one and two.  Start blanketing the west side of the building with every bit of water you can squeeze out of the hydrants.  Truck three and four will go door to door and clear the block.  Don’t do anything risky, the last thing I want to do today is dig people out of rubble.”  Cora ordered, earning a side look from Hanson.

“They need to start suppressing from the first floor, not spray the side of the building hoping for a miracle.”  Hanson grumbled.

“I’m not sending them in, so you can gripe all you want to.”  Cora said, crossing her arms as she watched Scott order the trucks into position. 

It only took a span of ten minutes for the crews to hear the worst sound imaginable.  Cora was standing over by Scott as they sprayed the building down when they heard a deep rumbling and looked up to top of the building rushing toward the ground floors.  Without a word she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her middle and haul her into the truck behind them. 

Scott pushed her in the foot well of the back of the truck, positioning his own body over her to protect the less clothed member of the team.  He could hear bricks and debris from the hotel peppering the top of the truck as he tucked himself closer to the floor and put a hand over the back of his neck.  He cursed as he heard the metal roof give way and a heavy brick hitting his helmet and sending him into blackness. 

-

“Come on breathe god dammit.”  Liam yelled as he kept pushing down on the firefighter’s chest. 

The building collapsing had called every medical unit in the area, police and other firefighting units pawing through the rubble to find the trapped firefighters of more than five trucks.  Scott and Cora had been the only ones found so far of the west district’s two trucks.  Cora was semi lucid on her way to the hospital for respiratory issues. 

Scott was currently in his ambulance, flat lining for the past thirty seconds as blood soaked into his hair from a gash on the back of his head.  His back was a mosaic of cuts and bruises, all from rubble that had managed its way through the inch of solid steel that used to be the fire truck’s roof.  His clothes were in blood tatters on the floor, Liam pressing hard on his chest as Jaal rushed them through traffic to the hospital. 

If Liam knew one thing, he wasn’t going to be the one to tell Reyes that his boyfriend had died a week and a half from Christmas on his watch.  Scott finally managed to jerk awake at the one minute mark, jaw clenched as he bit back a yelp of pain.  Liam immediately sighed in relief as he eased off the compressions, making a mental note to get the man something nice for the ribs he had broken doing them.

“It’d be really nice if you stopped doing that.”  Liam said, gently wiping the blood from the man’s face.

“I’ll, try.”  Scott mumbled, hands shaking as his nervous eyes darted back and forth.

“Good, we’re backing up to the hospital now.  They’ll take good care of you, but you already know that.  And don’t worry, I’ll call Reyes for you.”  Liam said, helping Jaal offload and wheel him into the emergency room.

-

Reyes cursed under his breath as he wiped his boots off on the hospital door mat.  Getting a call this late from Liam was not how he had wanted his night to go.  He had of course heard of the hotel collapse on his drive over here, and he didn’t like hearing the updates coming from the news.  Four firefighters had already been found dead, and others were arriving at the hospital as he was walking in.

“Hey Reyes, how can I help you?”  Marcy, the receptionist asked as he walked in.

“Hi, I’m here to see Scott Ryder.”  Reyes said, smiling at the familiar face.

“Room 403, ICU wing.  He does have restricted visitation, are you a friend of his?”  Marcy asked, taking down some information on a notepad and pen.

“Boyfriend actually.”  Reyes said, letting a small smile cross his face.

“Ok, let me call his doctor and see what these restrictions are.  They’re probably in place because he just came out of surgery an hour ago, but we’ll make sure.”  Marcy said, dialing the phone.

He nodded, stepping away from the counter slightly to run a hand through his hair in an attempt to correct the mess, having thrown himself out of bed in a rush.  Crossing his arms he clenched his fingers around his arms, trying to control his nerves after hearing that his best friend in this world was in the ICU.  Liam had told him over the phone that he was stable, but seriously hurt none the less.

“Reyes, you can go up.  Dr. T’Perro will meet you at his room.  Have a good night.”  Marcy said.

“Thank you, you as well.”  Reyes said, speed walking to the elevator and hitting the fourth floor button.

Tapping his foot on the floor, he smiled at a small boy and his father also waiting for the elevator to reach the fourth floor.  The larger man looked as worried as he felt, keeping a hand on the small boy’s shoulder that was probably about eight at the most.  He was clutching small worn teddy bear as he glanced up briefly to catch the paramedic’s eye.

“I like your bear, how old is he?”  Reyes said, meeting the man’s eyes as kneeled down to the boy’s eye level.

“Four I think, his name is fish.”  The boy said, smiling at Reyes.

“A bear named fish, my name is Reyes.”  Reyes said, holding out his hand for the boy to shake. 

“Why are you here mister?”  The boy asked.

“Blake.”  His father warned.

“It’s ok, I have a very good friend that fights fires and he got hurt.  I’m going to see him and make sure he gets better.”  Reyes explained.

“My momma fights fire too.”  The boy said, smiling as he looked up at his father.

“Which district is your friend from?”  The man asked as Reyes stood up.

“West, his name is Scott.”  Reyes said as the elevator finally left the second floor where it had stopped for no reason.

“Oh, I’m Sam, Cora’s husband.”  Sam said, extending his hand as the elevator finally reached their floor. 

Blake walked out first, still clutching his teddy as Lexi smiled at them from the main counter of the hallway before the halls split off.  The woman looked tired as she walked up to them. 

“This way, they’re both in the same room because of how packed this hospital is right now.  Cora will be on the ventilator for the night and maybe into tomorrow.  Scott has a serious concussion, lacerations down his back, and some broken ribs courtesy of chest compressions.”  Lexi explained as she gently opened the door.

Inside Scott was in the bed closest to the door, snoring around the breathing tube taped over his mouth.  His head was partially shaved in the back with a three gauze pads held down by a wrapping around his head.  The blankets were pulled up to his waist with monitors and heat pads pressed against the braces on his chest.  Cora was in the bed next to the window, smiling behind her oxygen mask as Blake ran to the side of her bed.  With a huff Cora pulled the boy up next to her, holding him close as he tucked himself into his mother’s side.

“You guys have full visitation as far as I’m concerned, call me if he wakes up.  He’s gonna be real sensitive to noise and light when he does get up.  But otherwise they’re both doing fine despite the night they’ve had.  Call me if you need anything.”  Lexi said, taking her leave.

“Hey hon, how are you feeling?”  Sam asked, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead as Reyes settled in the chair beside Scott’s bed.

“Good.”  Cora said, voice slightly muffled behind the mask, tears streaming down her face as she leaned up to hug the husband she hadn’t seen for over a year thanks to his deployment in Iraq.

“What happened?”  Sam asked, brushing a stray strand of hair from her eyes.

“Building came down on top of us.  Scott threw me in the truck and covered me, so I really only got the dust and smoke from being trapped in there for an hour or so.  I should have just pulled our trucks out completely from the scene, fucking Hanson.”  Cora explained, coughing roughly.

“I’m sure you did everything right, I checking in and all of the West district’s crews were found safe and slightly scratched.  Get some rest.”  Sam said, tucking the blanket around her and grabbing Blake who had passed out.

-

“Merry Christmas.”  Reyes whispered, smoothing a stray strand of hair from the medicated man’s face.

After a week in the hospital Scott had finally been released to recover at home.  A serious concussion and some broken ribs and bruises later, he was lying in bed with Reyes as the dawn light of the holiday entered their bedroom.  Cora and the other members of their department were also at home recovering, none with too serious injuries.  Sadly that wasn’t the case for Hanson, having lost two trucks worth of men to the fire, and was now being criminally prosecuted for his actions. 

“Merry Christmas to you too.”  Scott mumbled, wincing as he lifted his head slightly to roll to his side, arms wrapping lazily around Reyes.

“Are you ready to open your presents?”  Reyes asked, subtly checking the bandage taped securely to the back of Scott’s head.

“Sure, help me to the couch?”  Scott asked, cracking open his eyes to smile at the man.

“Of course.”  Reyes said, helping the man to his feet, sore back and chest complaining the whole way.

Scott managed to sit up on his own, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand as he watched Reyes drag their small collection of wrapped boxes beside their feet.  He got to his feet briefly to retrieve his lock box from under the blankets in their basket.  How he was ever going to propose with a concussion was beyond him, but it was going to happen on way or the other.

“Here.”  Reyes said, handing him a small box wrapped in snowflake paper.

He smiled as his slightly uncoordinated hands ripped into the paper, taking out a shoe box.  Inside were a pair of memory foam slippers.  The very ones that Scott had whined to Reyes about every time they passed the store in the mall, the Latin man saying that they were too expensive.

“Thank you.”  Scott said, smirking as he put them on after ripping off the tags.  “Open that one.”

Reyes chuckled under his breath, grabbing a larger box wrapped in silver paper.  Unwrapping the gift, the man opened the plain box to reveal a framed picture of Reyes and his grandmother who had passed away three years ago.  It was a picture of Reyes holding his paramedic certification certificate while his grandmother smiled beside him.  Reyes had lost the original photo in the fire that burnt his apartment, but through a few calls Scott had managed to get a copy from his estranged mother.

“How did you get this?”  Reyes asked, wiping his eyes as he looked at the photo.

“I have my ways.”  Scott said, rubbing the man’s back.

A few minutes later they had gone through all of the presents.  Scott getting a new sleek black watch, a gift card to his favorite sub shop, and a new package of underwear so he would get rid of his old ones.  Reyes in turn received a box of his favorite coffee that only came once a year to stores, a new winter coat, and a recipe book to tease him.

“So what’s in the lock box?”  Reyes finally asked as they cleaned up the paper and boxes. 

Scott smiled as gingerly got to his feet as the man looked at him in suspicion. 

“I’m concussed so you’ll have to bear with me on this, if anything this is planned and it real.  Close your eyes.”  Scott said, smiling nervously.

“Ok, that’s not suspicious at all.”  Reyes mumbled, closing his eyes and putting his hands over his eyes to emphasize.

Scott quickly unlocked the box, pulling out Reyes ring and holding it securely in his hand as he closed the box.  Getting on one knee proved to be a challenge with his back, eventually settling to the ground with a low groan. 

“Reyes, you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.  You just being here and supporting me mentally has turned the life I had before on its ass.  I love you so much, more than you may ever know.  So, would you do me the honor of letting me marry you?”  Scott asked, smiling as Reyes eyes shot open in an instant, hands going to his mouth as he looked down at the ring in Scott’s palm.

“Yes, god yes.  I love you so much Scott.”  Reyes cried, letting Scott slip the ring onto his finger before leaning back on his heels to grab his own out of the lock box.

“Will you help me up so I can hug you?”  Scott asked, tired eyes full of bliss as Reyes let out a laugh.

Reyes nodded, gently lifting the man to his feet before pulling him into a bone crushing hug.  Tears soaked into his loose shirt as the man just took in the events of the day.  Finally accepted and loved enough to be proposed to before they had even hit their year together.  He was thinking this day was at least years away, or was never going to happen.

“Reyes, still healing from the broken ribs Liam gave me.”  Scott squeaked as Reyes immediately loosened his hold.

“Sorry, I just never thought I would get this day.  With a man that cares about me as much as you do.”  Reyes said, resting his head on the man’s shoulders.

“Well it happened, just like the wedding we’re going to have at some point in the future.”  Scott chuckled dragging them both back down to the couch with a sigh of relief off his sore body.

“This was the best present I could ask for.  Just having you close for the holidays and every other day, it’s all I ever wanted.”  Reyes said, smiling in content as he leaned his head against the man’s chest and closed his eyes.

-

“Come on let us see it.”  Suvi asked excitedly as Reyes changed into his uniform for the day’s shift.

Apparently his load mouth fiancé had told everyone about what he had done over their Christmas holiday.  Smiling to himself he looked at the simple yet extravagant band wrapped around his finger.  The red and oranges immediately reminding him of the fire that he saw burning bright in Scott every day, that warmth most of the time directed at him.

“You people are killing me.”  Reyes complained, showing off his hand to the dispatch woman as flauntingly as he could.

“That’s beautiful, and this is your engagement ring?”  Suvi asked, rubbing her thumb over the smooth metal.

“Yes, he did show me the wedding rings he picked out and I’m already giddy to wear it.”  Reyes said, smirking as he slipped the ring off and placed it in his locker. 

“I’m a little surprised he proposed this early though, haven’t you two been together less than a year?”  Suvi asked.

“Yeah, but we’ve lived together most of that time and we just get each other.  He bought the rings before the concussion so I think it was a conscious choice to do this.”  Reyes replied.

“I’m happy for you two.”  Suvi said, handing him his radio and ear piece.


	2. The Middle

Scott was startled awake by his phone ringing just about one foot from his sensitive skull.  It had only been a week since Christmas and his head was not even half healed from the hit it had taken.  Groaning he sat up and tapped at the phone’s answer button. 

“Is this Scott Ryder?”  A woman asked over the phone, voice professional.

“Yeah, this is him.”  Scott mumbled, rubbing at his temple.

“I’m calling from central medical to inform you that Reyes Vidal has been admitted to the ICU, and was asked to pass the information of his room number 235, and your full visitation.”  The woman said as Scott dropped the phone to the floor.

“Sir?”  The woman said after a few seconds.

“I’ll be right down.”  Scott mumbled, ending the call and dressing.

Within a few minutes he was in his truck headed to the hospital, anxiety through the roof as he ran through scenarios of why Reyes would be in the ICU.  His hands were trembling by the time he got to the parking lot, speed walking into the hospital entrance straight to the elevator in the back of the hallway.  His head was pounding as the noise of the building and bright lights assaulted his senses.  He had a smaller bandage over the scar on the back of his head, stitches due out whenever Reyes deemed it. 

Reaching the second floor he made his way to the front desk, needing to talk to his partner’s doctor rather than walk blindly into his room.  An older man greeted him, small glasses hanging low on his nose as he lead Scott to his office and had him take a seat in the chair in front of his desk.

“I’m sorry to meet you like this.  His ambulance was involved in a motor vehicle accident.  As I understand it, they were responding to a call going through a green light when a semi ran the red and t boned the ambulance.  Reyes was in the back of the truck, so he rolled with the vehicle since he was up adjusting some of the cabinets for the call.  He had a punctured lung as well as a significant amount of internal bleeding in his abdominal cavity.  Dislocated knee, bruised back, and fractured ankle.  The good news is that he was perfectly responsive when they brought him in, joking the whole way, so no damage up here.”  The doctor said tapping his own head.

“Ok, can I see him, is he awake?”  Scott asked, hands trembling at the mental image of the crash his brain was imagining.

“He’s medicated, but yes he is up.  Here follow me.”  The doctor said, leading him down to the room.

Scott stepped in alone, the doctor closing the door behind him.  The Latin man was sat up in bed, bandages wound around his bare chest with his left leg elevated by pillows, secure in a heavy black brace.  There were nasal tubes wound back around his ears as he caught sight of the firefighter, smiling bashfully.

“Hey handsome.”  Reyes mumbled, smiling as Scott walked in with his hands in his pockets.

“Hi, this isn’t how I wanted to get woken up today.”  Scott said, leaning down to kiss the man’s non-bruised cheek.

“Sorry.”  Reyes said, leaning into the warm touch as Scott took a seat on the edge of his bed.

“It’s ok, it wasn’t your fault.  You’re ok, that’s all that matters.”  Scott said.

“I left my ring in my locker, I didn’t lose it I promise.”  Reyes said, abruptly as another wave of pain medication was administered through the IV timer.

“They’re giving you the strong stuff.  Its ok, I know you would never lose it.  Why don’t you get some rest, then we can get you home in our nice warm bed?”  Scott offered as Reyes nodded, fighting his eyes slipping closed.

“Ok, are you staying?”  Reyes asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be right here for you.”  Scott said, smiling and running a comforting hand over the man’s arm.

“You’re the best.”  Reyes mumbled, wincing slightly as he coughed.

-

Reyes returned home two weeks later, just about the time Scott had to go back to work.  Luckily Reyes was lucid enough to take care of himself while Scott worked slightly shorter shifts so that he could be home to look after the recovering man.  It was slow going, the paramedic’s leg recovering slower than his internal injuries, meaning that he was restrained to the couch or bed for the majority of the day. 

“This is awful, how did you do this for weeks when you had pneumonia?”  Reyes whined, flipping through channels for the third time in a row in their living room.

“I sick and out of it for most of that time, you just got off of your heavy pain meds.”  Scott explained from where he was getting ready in the bathroom down the hall.

“So what you’re telling me to do is down the Benadryl we have and sleep through the next few weeks?”  Reyes teased.

“Sure, you’re the medical professional.”  Scott said, trimming back his outgrown stubble into a nice gentleman’s cut that went up his jawline, lip, and chin. 

“I feel like you’re making fun of me.”  Reyes voiced, groaning as he adjusted his leg on the memory foam pillows they had bought.

“Just a little.”  Scott said, hiding the sleeping pills just in case before grabbing his hair gel, the kind without most of the good ingredients that were flammable.

He still remembered one of his first calls when the fire had caught part of his hair, taking advantage of the upper end hair gel product Scott had bought and used his whole adult life.  With a head full of retardant he had finished the night in embarrassment with the rest of the crew snickering.  That had earned him a long meeting with Cora over which products could be used, and the incident report that was now framed on the station wall of fame.

“And you’re sure you have to go to work?”  Reyes asked, limping to stand in the door way of the bathroom.

“Yes, now get back on the couch or into bed, you’re not supposed to be putting weight on your leg at all.”  Scott chastised as he pulled on his shirt and pants.

“Fine.”  Reyes said, sulking back to the bedroom.

“And you said I was pouting when I was sick.”  Scott mumbled under his breath as he slipped his ring on and turned off the light to tell Reyes goodbye.

The man was already tucked under the blankets pulled up to his waist.  Eyes slipping closed as Scott leaned down to place a kiss on his temple and pull the lighter blanket up around his shoulders.  The man hummed in content, cracking open his eyes to smile at the man above him.

“You have the station’s number if you need something, I’ll be back before you know it.”  Scott whispered.

“I know, be careful.”  Reyes mumbled, drifting off to soft snores.

Scott smiled, standing up to walk to the doorway, grabbing his jacket and boots before hefting his gear bag over his shoulder.

-

“Welcome back, have a nice vacation?”  Cora asked as he walked into the locker room that morning.

“It was eventful, you heard what happened to Reyes right?”  Scott asked, shrugging off his jacket and pants to fold and put into his locker.

“Yeah, everyone did.  Not too often an ambulance gets hit by a semi in this city.  He’s doing ok I presume?”  Cora asked, buttoning up her polo.

“He’s a whiner that he has to stay off his busted leg, but otherwise he doing well.  I trust you and Blake had a good Christmas?”  Scott asked, pulling on his protective under layers before his cargo pants and t shirt.

“Yeah, Blake was running around with his new remote control helicopter and truck.  Sam came back from Iraq the same day the building collapsed so it kind of put a buffer on the surprise.”  Cora explained as they walked toward the main offices of the station.

“Really, so is he back for good or?”  Scott asked.

“Yeah, he turned in his papers before he left.  Blake’s over the moon that he now has him back for a few months before he starts looking for a job.”  Cora explained, smiling beside herself.

“I think you are too.”  Scott teased earning him a slap to the shoulder.

“Of course I am.  Look I’m just happy he came home alright and we can be a family.”  Cora said, wiping her eyes briefly.

“Hey now, I’m happy for you two.  We should go out to dinner when we all have a day off.”  Scott said, smiling as he grabbed his radio and equipment belt from the supply desk.

“Definitely.”  Cora said as the first call of the day came over the intercom.

-

Eighteen hours later he stumbled back into the house, sore hip and all as he dropped his gear bag, boots, and jacket.  Taking his medication he changed into his night clothes and brushed his teeth before plopping into bed beside Reyes who was in the middle of reading a book where he was propped up against the some pillows.

“Hey, how was it?”  Reyes asked, running his fingers through the man’s freshly washed hair as he slotted himself into the paramedic’s side.

“Bone tiring as usual.  We’re you ok to get around?”  Scott mumbled.

“Yeah, I only really got up to heat left overs and use the bathroom.”  Reyes said.

“Ok, night.”  Scott said, lulling off to sleep with Reyes fingers massaging his scalp.

_“Ryder get the fuck out of the way!”  Lieutenant Jackson yelled as the sound of a revving diesel engine disturbed the quiet desert morning._

_Their platoon had been waiting for their vehicles to arrive at the front gate so that they could start their morning patrol of the city from the base.  Scott, Jackson, and Daniels had been chatting with the gate guards when the truck started toward the gate, speeding up as it went.  They could only fear the worst, that it was a vehicle loaded with explosives since it wasn’t slowing down after two warning shots._

_Scott had grabbed his rifle and planted his feet in the middle of the road, slamming rounds into the windshield of the vehicle where two occupants sat.  His Lt. was yelling at him to get out of the road, but he couldn’t bring himself to move when the hundreds of soldiers in the base could be killed if they let the trucker through._

_Watching as blood splatters over the glass of the windshield, he closed his eyes as the vehicle kept its momentum toward him.  He felt the steel bumper of the old truck hit his waist first, knocking him under rather than over the front of the vehicle.  Hitting the ground he felt the rubber of the front tire catch his uniform and pull him up over the tire, crushing his hip and side between the moving tire and axle until the truck grounded to a stop, his side acting as a brake pad._

_The world spun as he tried to get his bearing over the yelling in the background of his pounding head.  Two hands found their way to his shoulder blades as another slapped his cheek.  He could smell the terrible combination of burnt flesh and tire rubber as he tried to move from where he was trapped in the wheel well of the truck._

_“Hey, stop fucking moving.  We have to find something to cut you out with.”  Jackson said, supporting his back on his chest._

_“Here, I’ll just pop the tire.”  Daniels said, walking over with his field knife to stab six times into the truck tire._

_As it deflated he started to come loose from where he was wedged under the truck, steadily dropping to the ground.  As the initial adrenaline wore off, he could start to feel little by little how badly he was hurt.  Aches turning into sharp pain and cramps as blood soaked through his tan pant leg.  Cursing under his breath as his teammates lifted him onto the tail gate of a Humvee, he grabbed the nearest possible thing to squeeze as his nerves lit up with pain on ever pebble they ran over._

_“Holy shit.”  Daniel cursed as he nearly crushed his knuckles in his grip._

_“Sorry.”  Scott groaned, trying to loosen his hold to little avail._

_“It’s ok man, whatever makes you feel better.  Break my hand if you need too.”  Daniels said, glancing over to see how close they were to the field hospital._

_“Ed, how bad is it?”  Scott asked, head rolling back and forth on the tail gate, face twisted in pain._

_“You’ll be fine Scott, just a scratch.”  Daniels replied, watching Jackson grab more towels out of the back medical kit to press against the bloody wound._

_“I’m gonna miss poker night aren’t I?”  Scott pouted, gritting his teeth as the truck stopped in front of the medical building._

_“We’ll save you a seat just in case.”  Daniels said, helping the medics transfer him onto a stretcher._

_He glanced behind him as they carried him into the cement walled building, blood dripping a line into the morning sand in his wake, more streaming from the tailgate of the Humvee where he could see a soldier grabbing a hose to rinse it out.  It was the last time he saw the sand of Iraq that tour, the last time he would ever be an active duty marine again.  The last time._

Scott shot straight up in bed as he woke up gasping for breath as the sheet clung to his sweat soaked body.  Hand shooting to his hip as the area throbbing in phantom pain, mind seeing the bloody mass from his dreams clear as the day it had happened.  Muttering curses under his breath he shook in warm room, subtle scents of a pine candle floating through the air as tears slipped down his face. 

He could still feel the raw pain, picture the dark red blood, hearing the crunching of his bones, and smell his burning flesh against the truck’s wheel.  Throwing the blankets off his trembling body he made his way to the living room only dressed in his plaid pajama pants.  Ignoring his fiancé’s concerned gaze he opened the medicine cabinet and dumped a dose of his meds into his hand before grabbing a glass of water to swallow them down.

Breathing in for four seconds he exhaled for four, eyes closed as he followed the pattern with his hands splayed on the marble countertop.  He dimly heard Reyes grunt as he levered himself off the couch to hobble behind him, a warm hand running up his bare back to the nape of his neck.  His gentle massaging movements combined with his breathing exercises bringing him down from the edge of a breakdown.

“Do you want to talk?”  Reyes whispered, wrapping his arms around the man’s bare waist, forehead against his shoulder.

“Just, remind me where I am.”  Scott mumbled, voice shaky as he tried to take another set of breathes.

“Ok, come over here.”  Reyes said, gently pulling the man to the couch.

He sat down first, placing his leg back on the pillows before pulling the man down on top of him.  Running his fingers through Scott’s hair, he pulled the man’s head to his chest as he adjusted the blanket over the both of them.  The man was still trembling, trying and failing to control his breathing as he cried into Reyes chest.

“Scott, you’re ok.  We’re in our house in Alder Hills, you know the one with the green trim you hate so much and complain about constantly.  On the couch were you proposed to me just a few weeks ago, concussed and drooling on me just that morning?”  Reyes whispered, running his free hand up and down the man’s back.

“I hate this.”  Scott said, wiping his eyes.

“I know you do, why don’t you tell me what brought this on and we can talk through it together.  It’s obviously something that deeply shakes you up.”  Reyes explained, reaching over to turn the TV down slightly.

“It was when I got hurt in the marines, the day the truck ran the barricade and hit me.”  Scott said, a full body shudder running through him.

“What happened, you’ve never really explained it to me.”  Reyes said, rubbing comforting circles over the man’s delicate pressure points.

“It was a morning in Iraq, I was stationed at the forward operating base in Baghdad.  My lieutenant, teammate, and I were standing at the gate talking with some of the guards, waiting for our patrol vehicles to arrive so that we could go out that day.  Then we heard the engine of the old beat up fuel truck coming down the road toward us.  It ran through the first check point and was half way through the second as it approached us at the main gate.  I stood there and started popping off shots at the truck.  I managed to take out both passengers, but the truck didn’t stop in time.  It hit me and I went under the truck, my uniform caught on the tire and it drug me up into the wheel well, sort of using my hip as a makeshift brake pad that stopped the vehicle.  It only took them a few minutes to get me to the field hospital, but the whole time I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to walk again, or that I wasn’t going to make it at all.”  Scott explained, taking a deep breath to look up into the shocked eyes of Reyes.

“I, I, I can’t believe that you went through that.  To come out as you are now mentally after all that, you’re stronger than you know.  I know you have bad days, but your mental state could be so much worse than it is.”  Reyes explained.

“I don’t want to have these bad days, to me they feel as though my mental state is that bad.  I don’t want to wake up remembering how my hip smelt after being ground up like hamburger on that truck tire.”  Scott said, pushing himself away from Reyes to sit and place his head in his hands.

“Scott, you’re panicking.  Come here and we’ll…”  Reyes said, sitting up and putting his hand on Scott’s shoulder.  In a moment Scott flinched and pushed Reyes away, sending the man back onto the couch holding his still sore side.

Tears sprung to Scott’s eyes as he got up and fast walked to the back bedroom, internally terrified at the reaction he had just had.  He hadn’t lashed out at anyone since his first few nights in the hospital in Germany.  What had he done?  Reyes would leave him, kick him out of this home they had built together. 

He didn’t know if he could bear living alone again after this.  Glancing at his dresser he saw the two black velvet boxes that held their wedding rings.  The ring that he would never feel on his finger.  Sniffling he tucked himself in the corner of the room and cried into his arms, knees pulled up to his chest.  Hearing the door open with a grunt of pain from the man, his heart dropped even lower as a weight settled next to him with an exhausted sigh.

“Scott.”  Reyes tried, not earning any response from the trembling fire fighter.

“Scott Ryder, look at me.”  Reyes said a little louder, meeting the man’s misty eyes.

“Just, kick me out of your life.  You don’t deserve to live with a ticking time bomb like me.”  Scott said.

“Shut up.  I love you for who you are and how strong you are.  We always get past the bad days Scott, and we’ll do it again today.  You gave me this ring, and part of being married is for better or for worse.  I will never give up on helping you, so don’t for one moment think that something like this would ever drive me away.”  Reyes explained, smiling warmly at the man.

Scott couldn’t say a word, instead leaning forward to kiss Reyes on the lips.  Arms wrapping around the smaller man as he broke down completely.  Time seemed to blur for the next few hours, street lights shining into their bedroom as he snored in their bed, Reyes hand running down his back and over his waist.

-

“I hope you don’t mind doing this.”  Sam said as he and Scott walked down the sidewalk.

The two families had shared a nice early dinner before dissolving into one conversation or another.  The man had approached Scott asking to talk away from the others, an uneasy look in his eyes as he asked.  Scott had some inclination of what the man wanted to talk about and was happy to give him the time he seemed to need since coming back to the states.

“Of course not, what did you want to talk about?”  Scott asked as they took a seat on a bench at the neighborhood’s park.

“Did you feel different coming back from tour, like not all there?”  Sam asked, leaning forward to rub his hands together.

“Yeah, some nights I woke up from nightmares and thought I was still over there.  Other times you just zone out when other people talking because you think you heard something that brings you back.”  Scott explained.

“I don’t know what to do.  I was EOD over there and I have no idea how to tell Blake that his remote control toys scare the shit out of me, or that I need to sleep with a light on in our bedroom.  The worst thing is when Cora just wants to be close to me either on the couch, in bed at night, or trying to initiate something intimate.  I just, I’m so scared that I’ll hurt her.”  Sam admitted.

“I understand, Reyes had to get rid of his old coffee maker because it sounded like gun shots to me when it made coffee.  And I won’t lie to you and say there haven’t been times where I lashed out at him for no reason.  But Cora and Reyes, they love us past those things and wouldn’t get rid of us for the world.  Just talk with her and Blake about what you’re feeling.  You don’t have to tell him everything, probably shouldn’t, but just make small rules about using those toys around you.  And don’t spend your life worrying about this stuff for hours, sleep with Cora, cuddle, whatever.  You’ll never get those close moments back if you don’t go for them now.”  Scott explained.

“That’s just the thing though, I don’t know how to talk to them about what I went through over there.  I don’t want them to think that I’m terrified of every step they make.”  Sam said.

“Start small, tonight tell Blake that he at least has to tell you before he plays with certain toys.  As for Cora, just slip into bed beside her and keep the light on if you need it, but just keep in mind that you’re safe as long as you’re in your home and around them.”  Scott said, patting the man’s shoulder.

“Thank you Scott, is this how you got better?”  Sam asked as they started to make their way back to the house.

“Sort of, I’m on medication that helps too.”  Scott said.

“I still have to find a doctor here that’ll help me that way.”  Sam admitted.

“I can give you my doctor’s information, she’s tough in the right ways.”  Scott said, stopping at the front door of Reyes and his house.

“That’d be amazing, thanks again.”  Sam said, smiling as they walked in.

Reyes and Cora were talking on the couch as they walked in.  Blake was half asleep on the carpeted floor beside their fire place, curled up in an old knitted blanket Reyes had received from his grandmother.  Scott smiled as he hung up his coat, catching his fiancé’s eye as he sipped his glass of wine.  Cora beside him, in much of the same position.

“Ready to head home?”  Sam asked, taking a seat beside his wife.

“Yeah, you get to carry your son.”  Cora said, thanking Scott as he took her wine glass to the sink.

-

Sam smiled as he tucked the superman blankets around Blake’s shoulders, the young boy snoring lightly into his pillow.  He had missed this the most while he was deployed.  Often tearing up after ending their video chats thousands of miles and an ocean apart.  Just being close enough to tuck his son into bed and be safe in their quiet of their home was all he could ever ask for.

Leaving the door cracked he made his way to their back bedroom down the hallway.  Stripping down to his boxers, he took one glance at the small lamp be had been leaving on when he slept in their room.  Often choosing to take the couch instead of disturbing Cora now a days.  Taking a deep breath he stepped away from the lamp and toward the edge of their bed.

Cora was already in bed, asleep on his side of the bed.  Smiling, he gently moved the smaller woman over to her side and laid down behind her.  Wrapping his arm around her waist, he nuzzled his face into her shoulder and closed his eyes.  It was the first time in a while he had felt content enough to just fall asleep, breathing in the sweet vanilla scent that was uniquely hers.

He awoke the next morning to a soft hand running down his arm.  The morning sun rise shining warm through their thin curtains.  Snow gently falling and collecting on lawn.  He was almost too comfortable, content to keep his eyes closed a little longer before he had to face reality after his first real night of sleep in over a year.

“Morning handsome.”  Cora whispered, turning over in his pliant arms to face him.

“Morning beautiful.”  Sam said, kissing her on the lips passionately.

“You came to bed.”  Cora said, running a gentle hand over his cheek as they pulled apart.

“I had a nice talk with Scott, and I want to be there for you if you’ll help me adjust.”  Sam said.

-

Scott cursed under his breath as he hopped out of the back of the truck, seeing the home in front of them already engulfed in flames.  Grabbing his tank and helmet, he ran to the front of the house where Cora was busy talking with the distressed home owners.  Scott tested his oxygen and attached his rebreather, waiting for orders as he checked his axe and flashlight.

He was exhausted, taking on thirty hour shirts with only fourteen hours in between them.  One whole truck crew was out with the flu, and another vehicle was broken down in the shop.  Leaving just two trucks to respond to everything from vehicle accidents to fires in the district. 

“Truck one, suppress from the two trucks.  The house is clear, so just work on putting out the blaze, occupants say it started in the kitchen.”  Cora explained, rubbing her dry eyes as she directed them.

It took a few hours to get the fire out, getting washed off with the fire hose to rid their uniforms of any smoke residue.  It was below freezing out that night with wind chill, so the safety measure wasn’t as appreciated as it usually was.  Shivering violently he climbed into the back of the truck and threw his soaked coat and pants onto the floor. 

“Marcus, heat up please.”  Vince grumbled as they made their way back to the station.

“It’s already on full, give it a minute.”  Marcus shot back, rubbing at his temples.

Scott groaned under his breath, curling up in his seat as he shivered and a headache throbbed at his temples from exhaustion, hunger, and the cold.  He was only a third of the way through his shift and he just wanted to curl up next to Reyes and sleep for a week.  Looking up he saw they were back at the station, the rest of the crew jumping out to rest or eat.

He sighed as he stumbled out of the truck, hanging up his uniform on the heater to dry.  Limping to the kitchen he accepted a bowl of spaghetti from the volunteers that cooked meals for them.  As soon as he had finished his food he made his way to the front offices of the station.  He had earned a promotion recently to become a crew supervisor like Cora, but more to take the pressure off of her while the station dealt with the shortage.

“How are you holding up Scott?”  Cora asked from the desk across from his, sipper her coffee.

“Exhausted but still standing.”  Scott said, giving the woman a small smile as he plopped down into his desk chair.

“That’s good, can I ask you something?”  Cora asked, glancing up from her computer.

“Sure what about?”  Scott asked, flipping open his email.

“What did you and Sam talk about the other day?  His attitude has taken a one eighty from when he came home.”  Cora asked, finishing another report.

“We just talked about the transition from deployment to home.  How little things you don’t think of trigger us back to our service.  He was just afraid of how much change there is.”  Scott explained.

“What do you mean triggers?”  Cora asked.

“Well Sam was explosive ordinance disposal, trained to diffuse bombs.  They were mostly found on the roads we patrolled.  They used remoted controlled robots to deliver explosive to blow up on the spot.  So in his mind remote control car noises were always a noise he heard when a bomb was nearby.  So what do you think he feels when Blake plays with his remote control car?”  Scott explained, looking up to meet her eyes.

“That there’s a bomb nearby?”  Cora asked.

“And the anxiety that came with disarming a bomb over there.  I’ve had it happen too, Reyes old coffee maker crackled and to me it sounded like gunfire.  So when he made coffee before I woke it I would wake up and have a panic attack.  Some things you can keep the same, but others sometimes need to go for your comfort.”  Scott said.

“So what did you do to make yourself more comfortable after coming back?”  Cora asked.

“Reyes and I kept tabs on my behavior for a week.  We wrote down things that made me uncomfortable or just caused me to act different.  At the end of the week we sat down over a cup of tea on the couch and compared notes.  Going over which ones caused the most stressful reactions and which could be kept or needed to go.  The important thing is we talked it over as a couple, and compromised on what I needed to adapt to and what absolutely could not be talked over.  If you guys did it I would recommend taking the week off when Blake has time off school to include him and what he sees.  Kids can be pretty perceptive.  I didn’t even notice I was tensing up every time Reyes banged a pan together until my sister’s daughter pointed it out to me in an innocent question.”  Scott laid out.

Cora nodded, writing down a few notes on her phone before looking over some reports on her computer.  Scott dove back into his work, laying out plans for new fire equipment to replace their old ones that were rapidly approaching their expiration dates.  His own tank was barely functioning at this point, mask’s suction almost totally gone.  He just needed to convince their boss to sign off on the order and the station would be set for the next ten years depending on what new technologies came out. 

“Do you know if Jensen is stopping by today?”  Scott asked, printing off the expense report and stacking it into a folder.

“She should be, why?”  Cora asked, glancing up from her computer.

“I have the gear report for her, hopefully I won’t have to fight her on it.”  Scott said, walking over to her desk to set down the folder.

“I don’t see why she wouldn’t, this is good.  Where the hell did you learn to organize budgets for fire departments?”  Cora asked, smirking at him as she handed the folder back.

“You forget that the first few years I was part of this station, I slept on that couch because the bunkhouse wasn’t finished.  I heard plenty of how day to day administration goes in this place.”  Scott said, smiling as he heard the door open.

A shorter blonde woman walked in with two other assistants.  She wore a tight fitting blue pant suit with high heels.  She had only gotten to her position above the stations from political appointment by city officials, not by working her way up through firefighting.  She only visited each station one every three months, and usually not in the best moods for the firefighters liking.

“Good morning Harper, how are things today?”  Jensen asked, tapping away on her phone and ignoring Scott completely.

“Tiring ma’am, we’re down staff and working thirty hour shifts.”  Cora said, glaring at her computer.

“Ma’am, I have the gear budget that I need you to approve.”  Scott spoke up, sitting on the edge of his desk.

“What, who are you?”  Jensen asked, snatching the folder from his hands.

“Scott Ryder, assistant station supervisor.  That is the gear budget for our station to replace our expiring equipment, we need it approved within the month ma’am.”  Scott said, rubbing the bridge of his nose in irritation.

“This is way over budget for your station, most of this equipment isn’t necessary to be replaced.”  Jensen said, shoving the folder back into his hands.

“Actually it is within budget, I checked.  And this folder contains the picture of every piece of equipment that needs replacement along with its expiration code.  I didn’t put one thing down on this list that isn’t needed for the safety of our operations at this station.”  Scott explained, handing her another folder along with the first.

“We’ll see about that, in the mean time I need…”  Jensen said, cut off from the fire siren.

“Reported fire on 15th and Grove.”  The intercom sounded.

“I’ll take it.”  Scott said, rushing to truck one as Cora nodded.

Grabbed his dry gear, he threw on his heavy coat and placed his helmet on his lap as he took shotgun in the truck.  Vince was driving with Marcus in the back seat making sure their tanks were ready.  With only three of them responding he would have to make the call on whether or not to call the second unit and put all their force on one fire.

It took them ten minutes to get to the location, no fire in sight.  He signaled Vince to pull off onto the dark street corner beside a few old warehouses so that he could check the location with dispatch.  Glancing between the GPS and his radio he scratched his head in confusion.  It could have been a false call, but he needed to be sure. 

“Dispatch are you sure…”  Scott started to say as all hell broke loose.

-

“Are you sure you’re ready to be back Reyes?”  Liam asked as he stirred his lukewarm coffee.

They were both sitting on the bumper of the ambulance at the hospital, waiting for their next call of the night.  In truth he was healed from the accident a few months ago, only the occasional sore spot now and then.  Jaal had been driving when the ambulance had flipped and he was still on requested leave from the depot.

“I’m fine, besides I was going crazy in that house.  Especially since Scott went back to working these long shifts.”  Reyes said, sipping his tea.

“Medic 10-2 come in.”  Suvi said over their radios.

“Go ahead dispatch.”  Liam sighed, hopping to his feet.

“We have reports of a gunshot mass casualty on 15th and Grove.  At least three victim, scene is still being secured by police units.”  Suvi explained.

“10-4, we’ll be there in five.”  Liam said as Reyes jumped in the back and shut the door. 

“Be advised, situation is still developing but it police are reporting that the victims are critical.”  Suvi said.

Reyes cursed under his breath as Liam sped down the dark streets.  He was making his way around the back of the ambulance, grabbing trauma kits and towels.  Gunshot wounds were high on his list of disliked injuries.  Those and knife wounds were almost always unpredictable in what they could have hit on their way into the body.

“Oh fuck.”  Liam said as he stopped the ambulance and hopped out.

“What are you…?”  Reyes started out of the back of the truck until he saw it.

In front of them was at least five squad cars and another ambulance flashing their lights, headlights all focus on one thing.  A bright red firetruck with every window shot out, some bullets imbedded in the once pristine side of the vehicle.  He almost threw up when he saw what station it was from and what truck it was.  Scott always rode in truck one.

Blood and glass were on the ground along with one body already covered with a white blanket.  Two other firefighters were on the sidewalk, blood flowing into the sewer drains.  Reyes smacked himself internally and ran to the side of the nearest patient, Marcus.  His face was pale and eyes unfocused as a police officer tried to control the blood ebbing from his neck and chest. 

“Marcus, can you hear me?”  Reyes asked, signaling Liam to bring the stretcher. 

“Yeah.”  Marcus whispered, blood staining his teeth pink. 

“Good, we’re going to take care of you.  Any other pain besides your neck and upper left chest?”  Reyes asked helping Liam lift the man onto the bed.

“No, fucking bastards.”  Marcus said, tears running down his pale cheeks as they loaded him into the ambulance. 

“It’ll be ok, just take some breaths for me.”  Reyes said.

Fitting the man with an oxygen mask he worked to remove all of his blood soaked clothing.  While Liam worked an IV into his arm, Reyes piled towels and clotting gel on the man’s serious injuries.  As soon as Liam jumped into the driver’s seat they rushed full speed to the emergency room. 

“Marcus, squeeze my hand.  We’re almost there.”  Reyes whispered, running a comforting hand through the man’s damp hair, the other holding his hand in a firm grip.

Marcus nodded, flexing his hand in the paramedics as Liam backed them up to the doors of the trauma center.  Reyes moved over to the man’s head, ready to get the stretcher off the truck and to the more helpful doctors and nurses inside the hospital.

“Marcus, I need you to listen to me.  There’s going to be a lot of people talking around you in a few minutes.  They’re all there to help you get better, but most importantly you need to listed to the person be your right shoulder ok?”  Reyes asked as Liam slammed the back doors open.

“Got it, right shoulder.”  Marcus said, wincing as they off loaded him.

As soon as they handed the man off to the trauma team, Reyes washed himself of the man’s blood.  Hands shaking more and more as he looked toward the first ER bay, wondering if Scott was inside or back on the street already gone.  Tears sprung to his eyes as Mitch and Liam pulled him away from the noise of the ER and outside to the ambulance. 

“Reyes, Vince was the one under the sheet.  Scott’s already in the OR.”  Mitch started, hugging the shaking paramedic to his chest. 

“Do you know what happened?”  Reyes asked, sniffling.

“No, they were calling into dispatch when the radio dropped.  All we heard was yelling and gunfire before we called police units.  We won’t know until they investigate or one of the two wakes up.”  Mitch explained, pulling away from Reyes to put a hand on his shoulder.

“Did you see him, did he look bad?”  Reyes stammered.

“I didn’t see much, but they were focusing around his head and chest.  A lot of blood, but I don’t know specifics, we probably won’t for a while.  Listen I’ll take care of him, I imagine you still have a shift.”  Mitch explained.

“I can call Jenny, I’m sure she’ll let you have the shift off.”  Liam offered as they heard footsteps behind them.

“Don’t bother, Reyes go change out.  I’ll payroll you for the day.”  Jenny said, hugging him briefly. 

The dark haired woman smiled warmly at him as he nodded and wiped his eyes before heading to the locker room of the paramedics.  She was a complete one eighty from the firefighter’s government appointed supervisor, caring to her paramedics and their issues when they came out.  She had been one of the first to congratulate them on their engagement, so she knew how much this was hurting the man. 

“You’re off too if you want, otherwise I want you in the office for the rest of your shift.”  Jenny said, smiling as she went back into the hospital.

-

Cora sighed under her breath as she came home the following night, locking the door behind her.  She hadn’t been able to actually visit her firefighters in the hospital, reclined to her desk to supervise her one remaining fire crew.  At least she would have the other two back within the week, and Mitch was keeping tabs on Scott and Marcus.  She would still have to organize services for Vince, but that was tomorrow.

“Mama.”  Blake said, running to throw his arms around her legs.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be in bed?”  Cora whispered, kneeling down to hug him tight.

“I was, I heard you come home.”  Blake said.

“Ok, well get your butt back in it then.”  Cora said, kissing his forehead before he nodded and went back to his room. 

Sam was lightly snoring in their bed as she came in, stripping down to her underwear before climbing in bed in front of him.  Tucking herself into his chest she felt a few tears slip down her cheeks as she tried to just forget the day’s events and focus on his soothing warmth. 

Just thinking that Reyes wouldn’t get this tonight, stuck in the sterile noise of the ICU ER.  It made her stomach turn, just remembering listening to the dispatch recording of the incident, her firefighter’s screaming over gun shots.  Jumping out of bed she ran to the bathroom, barely making it before throwing up chunks into the toilet. 

“Cora?”  Sam’s disoriented voice carried through the bedroom as she heard him stumble slightly to the bathroom. 

His sleepy eyes went wide as he kneed beside her with a towel, one hand rubbing her shaking back.

“What’s the matter?”  Sam asked, pulling her into his chest.

“One of my fire crews got shot up today.”  Cora whispered, wiping her mouth as his eyes widened even more.

“What do you mean, like gun shots?”  Sam asked.

“Yeah, two are in the hospital and one dead.”  Cora said.

“What do you need from me?”  Sam asked, kissing her on the temple and pulling her closer.

“I should go visit them, sure as hell not going to sleep tonight.”  Cora said.

“I’ll come with, don’t want you driving like this.”  Sam said, gently pulling them both to their feet.

“But, Blake.”  Cora said, redressing.

“I’ll wake him up to go with, he has a way of putting people at ease.  Who was in the truck when it got hit?”  Sam asked pulling on his clothes.

“Scott, Marcus, and Vince.  Vince didn’t make it.”  Cora explained, wiping her red rimmed eyes.

-

Reyes sniffled as he tried to make himself comfortable in the stiff hospital chair.  Sitting in the empty ER room was beginning to get to him the more hours that passed by with a word on how his fiancé was doing in the OR.  The simple fact that he wasn’t being taken to a regular ICU room on the fourth floor was worrying enough.  That meant that they wanted to keep him near the OR just in case something went wrong. 

He just felt sick to his stomach, remembering how much blood was on the side walk beside Marcus.  The broken glass littering the pavement.  The pink tinted water that was running out of the back of their ambulance when he had come out to offer help to Liam.  He just wanted this nightmare to be over.  The day that firefighters were targeted like this was the day that he wanted to move to the Midwest and be an isolated farmer. 

“Reyes Vidal?”  A dark haired man asked from just inside the glass door to the room.

“Yes.”  Reyes said, glancing up and wiping his eyes again as new tears slipped down his face.

“My name is Jay Halstead, police investigator with the district taking on this case.  Could I ask you a few questions?”  Jay asked, tucking his clip board under his arm to shake the Latin man’s hand.

“Sure, but I don’t think I’ll be much help.”  Reyes said, watching the man take a seat beside him.

“Every little thing helps.  So to start, how do you know Scott Ryder?”  Jay asked.

“We’re engaged, been dating a little over a year now and we live together in Alder hills.”  Reyes explained, glancing up as a group of nurses moved outside the door.

“Oh I’m sorry, do you know what Scott did before you met him?”  Jay asked.

“He was in the marines before he became a firefighter.  Medical discharge for an injury to his hip.  He never mentioned anything that would follow him this way though, no enemies to my knowledge.”  Reyes explained. 

“Ok, and what do you do for a living?”  Jay asked, leaning forward slightly.

“Paramedic, I responded to the call tonight.”  Reyes said, sniffling and wiping his sore eyes.

“We can stop if you need to, we won’t get the full story until one of them wakes up.  The good news is that my department is devoting full resources to this case and the judge has agreed to charge whoever did this with two counts equal to attempted murder of a police officer, plus the homicide charge already on the table.  We’ll find whoever the hell did this.”  Jay explained, leaning forward to hug Reyes.

“Thank you, it means a lot.”  Reyes said, pulling away as another set of steps approached them. 

Looking up he met the trio of gazes from Cora, Sam, and little Blake.  The child ran forward first, throwing himself into Reyes lap.  Having no control he smiled at the boy and hugged him tight, even on the worst days that kid was a godsend to all of them.  

“Cora, this is Jay the investigator for the shooting.  Jay this is Scott’s supervisor at the station.”  Reyes introduced as he rocked Blake back and forth.

“Nice to meet you Cora, if I could ask you a few questions at some point tonight that’d be a big help.  But we don’t need to do it right away.”  Jay assured.

“We can do it now, I assume you want to know about my fire crew?”  Cora asked, taking a seat on the chair across the room.

“If you have background checks or personal files on them.  I just need to check if there are any leads or motives to what happened.”  Jay explained.

“I can send you the files off my phone here, as for motives I have no idea.”  Cora said, flipping through her phone as Jay listed his email address.

As they chatted, Reyes looked back toward the hallway.  Checking his watch he saw that at least seven hours had passed since Scott had been brought in.  It scared him to death, the more time it took the more he worried that that he was never going to see him partner again, hear his voice, or feel his touch.

“Reyes.”  Blake whispered, handing him another tissue.

“Sorry bud, just worried.”  Reyes said, adjusting the boy in his lap.

“It’s ok, Scott’s so tough.  He like superman.”  Blake said, causing Reyes to chuckle under his breath.

“Never grow up bud.”  Reyes said, smiling as he looked up at commotion out in the hallway.

Three nurses came into the room with a large medical bed, shooing the visitors to the side as they worked.  Scott was pale against the white sheets, blankets tucked around his form.  A breathing tube down his throat with a mouthpiece taped to his mouth.  The left side of his neck was wrapped in red dotted gauze and pressure bandages. 

More wound their way around the right side of his head, along with thick bandages on the right side of his face.  Thin drains wound the back of his neck and under the blankets covering his chest.  The soft sounds of the half a dozen monitors were the only other noise in the room as the nurses worked on getting Scott situated in bed. 

Blake was the first one to make a sound, pressing his face into Reyes shirt to look away from Scott.  Reyes snapped out of his staring to wrap his arms around the boy and squeeze him in reassurance.  His stomach was plunging the more and more he realized how much life support equipment they had attached to his fiancé.  It seemed the only thing that Scott was doing on his own was his heartbeat, strong and steady on the monitor.

“You all get twenty minutes, Reyes is the only one allowed to stay in the room overnight.”  One of the nurses said, checking over Scott once more before leaving.

Sam was the first one to move, walking over to take Blake from Reyes.  Blake tucked himself into his father’s shoulder, looking at Scott briefly before wiggling out of his father’s hold.  As soon as his feet touched the floor he walked over to Scott’s side and put his small hand inside of the man’s open one.  Almost immediately Scott’s hand twitched and closed slightly around Blake’s own. 

“Luv you Uncle Scott.”  Blake whispered, Cora covering her mouth as tears ran down her face, Sam pulling her into his chest.

“I’ll let you guys have you’re time.  We’ll do what we can until they wake up.”  Jay said, taking his leave back to the office.

-

“What did you get Jay?”  His boss Hank asked, looking over their white board that was collecting information for the case. 

This was a high stakes case for their district.  It was unusual and dangerous to have whoever was on the street shooting firefighters of all people.  They needed to catch their suspects quickly.  Especially since they already had one homicide charge on the table and two firefighters in critical condition in the hospital.

“I have the personal reports of all three firefighters, and knowledge that we can cross Scott’s fiancé and their station supervisor off the suspect list.”  Jay said, handing Hank the three head shots of the firefighters to hang up.

“Good, any priors for the firefighters?”  Hank asked, looking over the folders.

“A few speeding tickets, worst one is a prescription drug misdemeanor against Scott four years back.  But Reyes said it was a side effect of his injury overseas in the marines, so no lead there.”  Jay sighed.

“Linda and Harold are going through the witnesses, hopefully we get something because none of them will have the whole story.  No security cams in the area either.”  Hank explained.

“So the location could have been planned?”  Jay asked.

“I would put money on that it was.  Report says that they were called to a false fire then the shooting happened.  No camera on the truck, no eye witnesses that saw anything.”  Hank said, crossing his arms.

“So a coin flip on the two waking up and telling us what happened, and a coin flip on them seeing anything worthwhile.  Scott at least had two separate head wounds from the brief glance I got in the hospital, he might not even be able to tell us anything.”  Jay said, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Let’s just fine some ways to pass the time before they wake up.  Drop by the station and just observe some of their operations.  Interview who you think will help and see if you can find a motive.”  Hank said, retreating to his office.

-

She did not need this today.  Getting the three crews in order and handling the ongoing case of her injured fire crews was a full plate on its own without Jensen walking around the office questioning every dollar spent out of base necessity.  Her patience was about to run out, especially since the gear report Scott had meticulously made was still sitting on his desk without a signature from the woman.

“Harper, tell me why the station needed to buy a larger chest freezer for the kitchen.”  Jensen asked, old glasses set on the bridge of her nose.

“To store food supplies for the two extra crews we hired last year.”  Cora mumbled, clicking through her reports from Jay.

“And what are these bills for almost twenty thousand dollars, along with these for three thousand a day?”  Jensen asked, slapping the envelopes down onto her once organized desk.

“This one is for funeral and burial expenses for Vince’s family.  These two are statements from the hospital for the daily care costs of Scott and Marcus.”  Cora growled.

“Why are we paying out this much from our budget?  Those two don’t need every fifty dollar bandage we have to pay for.”  Jensen said.

“We are deferring judgement to the hospital staff and the judgement of their trusted dependents.  They will get the best care they can for their injuries ma’am.”  Cora explained as Jay walked in smiling with two coffees in his hands.

“We’ll see about that, I’ll be back in a week to check up on these.”  Jensen said, grabbing her purse and leaving.

Cora smiled warmly at Jay as he handed her one of the cups.  He took a seat in a spare chair in front of her desk sipping his own drink.

“So who is that ray of sunshine complaining about medical costs?”  Jay asked, pulling out his notepad.

“Jensen Radcliff, our government appointed supervisor that stops by one every three months or so.  She still hasn’t signed off on our equipment order to replace what will be expiring in a few short weeks.  I’m on the last thread of my patience with everything going on.  I don’t need her stomping down to the hospital and arguing with Reyes or Marcus’s wife on how much money is being spent keeping them alive.”  Cora sighed.

“I might just have to ruin her day, her attitude just earned her more than a few hours of questions from my boss.”  Jay said, smirking as he made a quick phone call.

“You’re the best, so did you need anything else?”  Cora asked, organizing her papers back into their piles.

“Actually one of your firefighters mentioned a charity fund.  Two thousand in cash in the trucks just in case a family needs assistance.  I’m having my partner check the truck to see if it was taken in the attack, but who else would have access to that account?”  Jay asked.

“Well, a number of officials that run the charity, the station supervisors and assistant supervisors, and Jensen.”  Cora explained, printing out several pages of information form the charity website and other staff lists of the stations.

“Sounds like we have a lead, have a nice day.”  Jay said.

-

Scott climbed back to the edge of consciousness in excruciatingly slow steps.  Cracking open his eyes felt like the most exhausting task of his young life, the bright lights of the room assaulting his sensitive state.  The feeling of floating told him that he was on some high grade pain mediation, if not sedatives.  Breathing tube annoyingly dry and irritating down his throat. 

His head felt like it was congested, tight throbbing against his temples as he tried to look around at his surroundings from his position flat in bed.  He could just barely feel all of the wires and tubes hooked up to him, not able to actually maneuver any of his body parts.  This internally terrified him, thinking that he might be paralyzed in this bed.  Especially since he was floating between consciousness and sleep.

“Scott?”  Reyes whispered, a gentle hand coming to his left cheek.

The worried Latin man entered his vision, hope in his red rimmed eyes.  But for the life of him he couldn’t make a sound or move his eyes to assure the man that he was still here.  He couldn’t prevent the intense sorrow that entered the man’s expression, tears slipping down his cheeks as he cried over him. 

His heart broke as he tried to console his devastated partner who no doubt thought he was braindead.  Without warning he heard the uptick of his heart rate on the monitor, a nurse running into the room.  His chest felt like it had locked up and pressure was steadily growing in his chest cavity.  He could barely hear the shouting and beeping of alarms as he slipped back into darkness.

“Move he’s going into cardiac arrest.”  The nurse shouted as three others moved Scott’s bed into the OR.

Reyes looked on in horror as he watched the group disappeared behind the double red doors.  Without a word the female officer that had been assigned to guard Scott’s room pulled him into a tight hug.  He had learned her name, Kim, a few days ago.  Her partner, Sean standing just to the side, protecting Marcus and his family from reporters and anyone else that butted their head in.

Well almost anyone.  A blond haired woman with a tired looking assistant barged into the room with an air of authority, glancing around until she seemed to find what she was looking for.  Moving toward Marcus’s rooms she was stopped by Sean which incited the blow up to follow.

“Ma’am unless you’re family, I can’t allow you in.”  Sean said.

“I’m his supervisor and I need to talk to either his dependent or the hospital staff about these charges.”  Jensen said, crossing her arms.

“I’m sorry ma’am no outside visitors.”  Sean said, moving to stand in front of the doorway.

“Fine, where is Ryder’s room then?”  Jensen asked. 

“Over here, what the hell do you want?”  Reyes spat out, pulling away from Kim.

“I’m here to oversee the correct allocation of the cities funds.  Three thousand dollars plus a day is one allocation that has to be investigated for necessity.”  Jensen said.

“Are you talking about cutting funding to Scott and Marcus’s care?”  Reyes growled, taking a step forward.

“If that is necessity, head injuries do tend to not leave viable results.”  Jensen explained, reaching for her phone as Reyes snapped.

Reyes lunged forward aiming a left hook at the woman as Kim grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back as Sean ran to grab Reyes other side.  Hospital security took Jensen and her assistant out as Reyes fought against his human restraints. 

“Reyes stop, it’s not worth it.  Hank will make sure that she doesn’t touch the funding.  A lot is happening, just take a deep breath.”  Kim said, gently releasing her hold on him.

“Thank you.”  Reyes whispered, wiping his eyes and sniffling.

“Of course, just relax and we’ll get everything under control.”  Sean said, grabbing his phone to make a call.

-

“What is the meaning of this?  I have a job to do, I can’t sit here all day.”  Jensen said, glaring at Hank sitting across from her, Jay standing in the background.

“You’ll stay here as long as we need you to.  You’re a suspect in the shooting of three.”  Hank said.

“This is absurd, what could possibly give you that idea?”  Jensen asked.

“Maybe your actions at the emergency room today in front of my two officers.  Threatening to pull funds from firefighters injured in a shooting doesn’t look good.  Especially since you have a hand in the charity money that was stolen from the fire truck.  Not to mention a few troublesome bank statements between your political account and the charity account.”  Hank said, lying out three different folders.

“I would like my lawyer present.”  Jensen said, crossing her arms and pushing aside the papers.

“Listen perhaps we could make a deal.  Who I really want is the crew you paid to kill those firefighters, all of them.”  Hank said, leaning forward.

“I didn’t pay to have them killed, I paid to have the truck robbed.  They went off book.”  Jensen admitted.

“Who was in the crew?”  Hank asked.

“Ronald Hanson, already had a beef with this station for getting him fired from his job after the collapse incident in the southern district.  I don’t know who else he hired, but they were a crew of four.”  Jensen explained.

“So you hired someone that had a grudge against their department, and just told them to rob the truck for the charity funds to add to the money you already take from the stations, is that right?”  Hank asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Yes, now where is my deal you promised?”  Jensen sneered as Hank nodded to Jay and left.

“Jensen Radcliff, you are under arrest for the robbery and attempted first degree murder of two service workers and the first degree murder of one service worker.  Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.  You have the right to an attorney if you cannot afford one the court will issue a public defender to your case.”  Jay said, cuffing the woman and leading her downstairs to a waiting squad car.

-

Grumbling under his breath Reyes cracked open his eyes to meet the force disturbing his restless sleep in the stiff hospital pull-out bed.  His tired brown eyes met the kind green ones of Sam, leaning over his bed with a tray of coffee in his hand.  Smiling weakly he sat up on his elbow and accepted the cup from the man, relishing the smooth sugary concoction.

“Good morning, how have you been?”  Sam asked, sitting down in the chair closer to Scott’s bed.

“Ok I guess, he’s been stable for at least a few days now.”  Reyes said, sitting on the edge of his bed, brushing his fingers through his shaggy hair.

“That’s good, I heard Marcus woke up last night.”  Sam said, glancing toward Scott.

The man had lost weight only being on feeding tubes and fluids from the hospital, his cheeks sunken slightly.  His body had gotten weaker from the cardiac arrest he had experience just the other day, relying more and more on the hospital’s life support to keep him going.

“Yeah, at least one of them is awake.”  Reyes said, rubbing his sore eyes. 

“Hey, these things take time.  Scott’s still in there, he just needs a little longer to heal.”  Sam said, smiling as Blake skipped into the room.

“Hi Uncle Reyes.”  Blake said, hopping up beside the Latin man with his teddy bear and another stuffed fish under his other arm. 

“Hey bud, let me guess is that a fish named bear?”  Reyes asked, wrapping his arms around the boy.

“No, I brought him for Uncle Scott.  Fish always makes me feel better, maybe he could do the same.”  Blake said, holding out the small stuffed fish for Reyes.

“Thanks, I’m sure it will do the trick.”  Reyes said, getting up to set the stuffed animal on the table beside his partner.

Reyes wiped his eyes as he sat back down, taking a deep breath as he leaned forward to put his head in his hands.  He could feel his heart beat in his ears, a roaring ocean against his weary nerves.  He just wanted to see Scott awake, anything to quell his uneasy stomach and piss poor sleeping schedule.  He was at the edge of his patience, and the last thing he needed to do was a have a breakdown in front of his friends and coworkers.

“Reyes, deep breath.”  Sam said, moving to kneel in front of the shaking man.  “Blake grab me some tissues.

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”  Reyes whispered, letting Sam take the cup of coffee out of his hand.

“Do what?”  Sam asked, grabbing a tissue from Blake to wipe Reyes sore looking eyes.

“Pretending like I’m fine when I’m really just on the edge of a breakdown.  He went into cardiac arrest the other day, and some stupid bitch tried to come in here and take away the money keeping them alive and I just.”  Reyes explained, trailing off to lean his head on Sam’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry about any of that.  Just focus on how Scott is doing now, he’s still fighting.”  Sam said, rubbing the man’s back.

-

He never thought waking up could be this much of a chore, dragging himself to consciousness over the span of an untold number of minutes almost spun him back down into the blackness.  His body felt stiff and restless, like he had laid in bed for weeks, which at this point might be just the case.  He could only imagine how sore his hip was going to be if it hadn’t moved for that long.  It got almost unbearably stiff and sore during his short bout of sickness. 

Cracking open his eyes he glanced around and registered his setting.  The room was significantly dimmed, probably night then.  A few nurses sipped their mugs of coffee at the front desk.  Hearing soft snoring off to his left he noticed Reyes.  Curled up on a hospital pull out bed, he had tucked himself into the small collection of thin blankets. 

Even in the few minutes he watched him, the Latin man had tossed a turned nearly half a dozen times.  Giving him enough of a chance to catch the dark bags under the man’s eyes, and exhausted posture even in sleep.  No doubt because of him.  Well if he had caused it, he was going to end it. 

Moving his head as much as the c collar, pillows, and taped padding would allow him.  He caught sight of an empty pill bottle sitting on his side table and with great effort grabbed it.  Taking a deep breath through the respirator, which had thankfully replaced the tube down his throat, he aimed at Reyes and tossed the bottle. 

It hit the exhausted man on the nose, jolting him out of sleep as if he had been stung.  The confused man glanced around for the source of the interruption, finding the pill bottle on the ground.  Picking it up the man rubbed his bloodshot eyes and stared at the bottle.  Scott sighed and internally face palmed at the man.

“Reyes.”  Scott tried, sounding more like a drunken mumble that his fiancé’s first name.

Instantly Reyes head shot up to look him in the eyes.  The man got up and walked over to the side of his bed, reaching out a shaky hand.  Before he could set it anywhere, Scott reached up his hand to take the paramedic’s, squeezing tightly.

“About time.”  Reyes whispered, leaning his head against his shoulder.

“Sorry.”  Scott mumbled, leaning his cheek against the man’s head.

“It’s ok, I’m just glad you’re ok.”  Reyes said, looking up as he heard a collection of footsteps. 

Two nurses and Lexi were in the doorway, smiling at the pair.  The doctor turned up the lights slightly, making her way over to the man’s side. 

“And hear I thought you didn’t like spending time in the hospital.  Follow the light with your eyes for me Scott.”  Lexi said, waving a small flashlight over his eyes.

Scott grumbled to himself, flinching away from the light.  His head started pounding after just a fraction of the light.  He could feel Reyes soft hand running over his cheek, gently coaxing him back down from a migraine.

“Listen, I’m glad that you’re awake it answers a lot of what-ifs we had about your condition.  But, for tonight you need to go back to sleep, and let us do some scans in the morning.  You have a very serious head injury that we need to watch closely.”  Lexi explained.

“Got it.”  Scott mumbled, eyes already slipping back closed.

-

“I don’t like this.”  Scott mumbled, wincing as the nurses worked to position him on the CATSCAN board. 

“You probably liked it better when you were waist deep on sedatives and pain meds.  It’ll be over in a few minutes, just stay still.”  Reyes said, smiling as he took his place in the other room beside Lexi and two other neurologists.

Scott sighed deeply as they ran him into the large white cylinder, lights shining over his face and head as the scanned.  His head was taped rigidly in place, along with his chest and hips.  He didn’t like being in these scanners, sure they helped, but he couldn’t phase the slight claustrophobia he felt inside of them.  Probably another topic to discuss with Lexi and Reyes, but for another time.

Reyes looked between the monitors and Scott.  Tapping his arm, he watched the three doctors take notes on the scans flashing over the screens.  He wasn’t an expert, but he could identify at least a few areas that Lexi had explained to them before.  And to his relief, they looked much better than they had been three weeks ago. 

“Swelling has gone down more than halfway, bleeding is still present so we should still keep the drains in for another week or so.  Otherwise he’s healing at a good pace.”  One of the doctors, Jason said.

“Let’s move him down to check his chest cavity.”  The other doctor, Johnson said.

“All healed, only a little bit of scaring and inflammation near his right lung cavity.”  Jason commented.

“What about his hip?”  Reyes asked, fidgeting slightly as he watched Scott’s fingers tap against his thigh, a clear sign that the man was uncomfortable.

The technician nodded and moved Scott down so that his pelvis was in the scanning area.  As soon as the scans came on the screen Lexi studied them intently.  Pulling his old scans from memory to look for any degradation or improvement.  Finally after a few tense moments for Reyes she pulled back and smiled.

“Just a few tight ligaments, nothing a little physical therapy exercise won’t help.  He won’t like it, but he’ll do it.”  Lexi said, signaling the technician to end the scan.

Scott gave him a tired smile as he came back into the room, letting out a sigh as the nurses moved him back into his bed.  The rigid restraints from the CATSCAN machine were replaced by the softer pads and pillows positioned to cushion and support his healing neck and head.  Blankets pooled back over him as his drains were put back in place in his head and chest.

“So Lexi, can I offer you another deal of getting out of this place early?”  Scott asked, closing his eyes as one of the nurses slipped the nasal tubes into his nose for his oxygen.

“Shut it Scott, you’ll be lucky if I let you out of that bed within the month.”  Lexi said, smirking as the man pouted, pushed back toward his room.

Reyes smiled as he walked beside the man, mouthing a word of thanks to the doctor.  As the nurses repositioned his bed back into the room, he caught sight of Jay and Hank walking in the door.  They looked around for a moment before finding Reyes and walking over.

“More questions?”  Reyes asked, smiling as he earned a snort from Jay.

“No, we just wanted to come tell you the good news in person.”  Jay said, looking to Hank.

“We got them, all four attackers and the one that ordered it.  They’ll all be put away for the rest of their lives without parole.  Turns out Jensen hired Hanson and a few thugs to rob the truck for the charity box and Hanson happened to have some pent up aggression from the collapse incident that got him fired from his station.”  Hank explained. 

“That’s another weight off my chest then.  I’m sure Scott would love to hear it as well.”  Reyes commented, catching their surprised gazes as they looked into the room.

Scott glanced at the trio from his bed, giving them a smile wave as Reyes wordlessly invited them inside. 

“Scott, this is Jay and Hank, two of the detectives that investigated the shooting.”  Reyes introduced.

“Nice to finally meet you guys, I’ve heard good things about your department.”  Scott said, raising a hand for the pair to shake.

“Likewise, it’s good to see you up and coherent.”  Hank said, standing with Jay beside the bed.

“Thanks to the efforts of a lot of people I need to find the names of.  Marcus and I owe you guys, the police officers, paramedics, and this hospital so much.”  Scott said, smiling as Reyes took the seat beside his bed.

“A fellow public servant was attacked, anyone would have gone full on to help you guys.”  Jay said.

“I know.”  Scott said, yawning as he settled his head back onto the pillows.

-

Jay sighed as he let his head fall onto his desk.  He had been looking at documents for six different cases for most of the day and it was starting to hurt his head and strained eyes.  The rest of the team was in much of the same attitude along with the officers downstairs stretched thin from the crime of the city.  His stomach grumbling made the situation all the worse, reminding him that he had yet to eat for the whole day, now at nearly three in the afternoon looking at a long night for many at the station.  And then the fire alarm went off.

Cursing along with the rest of his colleagues he followed them downstairs and out the front door.  It was a warmer summer day and all he wanted to do was go lay in the comfortable green grass under the shade of the department’s trees.  Glancing up he noticed that the fire trucks were already here, how did they…

“Heard you guys need a little pick me up.”  Scott said, smirking as he leaned against the side of the fire truck. 

In front of two of the stations trucks were four tables of covered food and drinks.  The pungent smell of BBQ assaulted the officers and detective’s noses as they stared at the small banquet and collection of firefighters. 

Scott was chuckling under his breath, dressed in a pair of black cargo pants and his navy blue supervisor polo that had his name stitched over the right side of his chest with the threaded station logo over the other side.  Three months after his release from the hospital he still sported the healing scars on top of his left collar bone and on his right jaw and that side of his head. 

“Consider it an overdue thank you from our station.”  Scott said, patting Jay on the back as he just stared at the food. 

“You guys didn’t have to do this.”  Jay said, watching the fire fighters dish out meals to the now excited department.

“Yeah we did, besides it was largely our new supervisor’s idea.  Now go dig in.”  Scott said, pushing the man toward the food as Kim and Sean walked up to him with plates of food.

“You have no idea how much this department needed this.”  Sean said, taking a bite of his ribs.

“He has some idea, thanks for doing this.”  Hank said, smiling as he joined the trio.

“No problem, we’ve been trying to find a time that was right and your call gave us one.  Seems like the whole city is stressed these days.  We just doubled our fire crews at the station and got two more trucks to deal with the influx of calls.”  Scott explained, checking to make sure his radio was still on.

“I hear ya, we’ve been buried in investigations and calls.  This meal was a godsend.”  Hank said.

“That’s why I’m thankful that the stations have meal crews that shove food in our faces, or a lot of fire fighters would go hungry for our busy shifts.”  Scott said.

“Yeah, you look a lot better by the way.”  Kim said, taking a bite of her burger.

“Thanks, still have to take it easy for the next few months, but the supervisor position means that I don’t have to charge into fires too often.”  Scott explained as one of the new firefighters, Reed, came up to him.

“We have plenty of left overs.”  Reed said.

“Do you guys want any more, or any for the department to have?  Hell I would even let you take some home if you wanted.”  Scott asked.

“We’ll probably grab some, but not that much.”  Hank said, looking at the two tables still stacked with food.

“Alright, announce that the officers can take as much as they want and then take the leftovers down to the shelter on fifth.”  Scott told Reed as the man nodded and left.

“Your station isn’t going to save the leftovers?”  Jay asked.

“No, we have the meal crews and already had BBQ this week.  The homeless shelter would make better use of it than us.”  Scott said, smiling and waving as one of the fire trucks took off with the leftovers.

“Thank you again Scott, we sadly have to get back to it.”  Hank said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who left kudos and comments. Hope you enjoyed the second part.


	3. Not the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn I haven't updated this story in nearly a year. Sorry about that, I kind of go from one long idea to the next. But thanks to a few comments from people that really want to see more of this story here is a good ten thousand more words to tide you over until I get the ending sorted out. Thank you again for all the support and I hope this little bit was worth the wait and interesting enough to want maybe one or two more chapters. Thanks

“Entrapment MVA on 16th and Hartford, units needed.  Police units still securing the area.”  The intercom sounded.

Scott grabbed his coat from his desk chair and sprinted to the garage bay.  He glanced at truck one’s crew to make sure they were ready before jumping in his own half ton truck.  Painted bright red with all the adornments and systems of a regular fire truck he was a mobile command unit for the station with the ability to lead the fire trucks to the scene. 

Turning on the lights and sirens he pulled out onto the road, glancing back to catch Marcus in the driver’s seat of the truck, following him close as they raced toward the call.  Even after the shooting the station had elected not to get rid of the fire truck involved in the incident.  Some of the bullet holes that caused issues were removed, but others had stayed on the once sleek side of the vehicle.  Vince’s name now adorned the sides and back of the truck in gleaming gold print in memory. 

“Keep your heads on a swivel, area is not secure.”  Scott radioed to the crew as he pulled in front of the vehicle that needed their help.

Reyes and Liam were already there, on their backs trying to get at the people trapped in the over turned car.  Upon closer examination he realized that it wasn’t an ordinary citizen they were helping, it was a police car.  A sleek black car with shattered red and blue lights on the dash. 

“Reed I need light on this side, Daniels, Watson I need you watching the gas tank and engine.”  Scott yelled as Marcus grabbed the Jaws of Life from the truck.

The team jumped into action as Scott watched them all carefully.  He was in charge of training the station for operations like this so whether they succeeded or failed it would be on him.  Grabbing a fire proof blanket from the truck he handed it to Reyes so that he could hold it up to whoever was stuck in the car so they wouldn’t get burnt by the saw as it cut through the metal.  The door came off in a matter of minutes, Marcus rushing to cut out the steering column and dashboard as Reyes gently slid the injured person out onto the pavement.

“Liam I need oxygen now.”  Reyes yelled as he started compressions on the man’s chest, on Jay’s chest.

Scott watched the pair work in sync as they tried to bring the detective back to life.  He snapped into action and ran back to his truck to grab the medical bag from his backseat, stuffed to the brim with lifesaving equipment. 

“Liam, stretcher.”  Reyes said, wincing as his aching arms continued to push on the man’s chest.

“Reyes, I have a defibulator if you need it.”  Scott said, unzipping the bag to dump the contents out.

Reyes glanced up in relief stopping for a moment to grab the trauma scissors off his belt and cut open the man’s shirt.  Grabbing the paddles from his partner he stuck them on the man’s chest and side before connecting the wires.

“Clear.”  Reyes yelled as the machine sent a pulse through Jay. 

They waited for a moment before Reyes started another round of compressions.  They did the procedure two more times, each time prompting the paramedic to curse in Spanish.  On the fourth pulse the detective finally coughed himself back to life, eyes wide as he greedily took in the air supplied by the oxygen mask.

“Help us get in the ambulance.”  Reyes said as Liam, Scott, and Marcus helped lift the weak man onto the stretcher. 

Reyes have his shoulder a quick squeeze before they loaded the man into the ambulance and took off toward the hospital.  Scott let out an exhausted sigh and rubbed his eyes.  Walking back he repacked the contents of his medical kit as a pair of footsteps approached him.  Zipping up the bag and looking up he was met with the concerned look of a woman with long brown hair, Erin if he remembered correctly.

“Where’s Jay?”  Erin asked, staring at the nearly crushed car.

“On his way to the hospital, he’s awake that’s all I know.”  Scott said, throwing the bag back into his truck.

“Thank you.”  She said, rushing off to join the other officers.

“Dispatched, truck one is heading back to station.”  Scott radioed.

“10-4, you have a call to take when you get back.”  Dispatch relayed.

“Roger.”  Scott sighed, hopping back into his truck and heading back to the station.

Getting back to his desk he picked the phone off the hook and held it to his ear as he took a heavy seat in his desk chair. 

“This is Ryder.”  Scott said.

“Hey Scott.”  Sam said, sounding exhausted on the other end of the line. 

“What do you need Sam?” Scott asked, leaning back to check his watch, 3:46am just a few hours from going home.

“I hate to drop this on you, but I think Blake gave Cora his flu.  She’s on medication from the hospital and only functioning because of it, so I don’t think she’ll make her shift.”  Sam explained.

“It’s alright, I can cover it.  Tell them I hope they feel better and to stay the hell away until they get better.”  Scott said, chuckling to himself.

“I’ll pass it along, sorry again.”  Sam said.

“It’s ok, see ya.”  Scott said as another call sounded, MVA.

“Bye.” 

Scott groaned as he got up out of his chair and walked toward the garage again.  Two crews were already suited up as he got into his truck and pulled the GPS location up.  It was going to be a long shift.

-

Reyes looked up from his book as Scott stumbled into the apartment the next morning.  His tired eyes concentrated on kicked off his shoes and walking toward the bedroom, hair too far gone to notice at this point.  Reyes immediately followed, grabbing the man’s medication on the way.  He found his fiancé face down on their bed, shirt on the floor and pants around his ankles. 

“Scott.”  Reyes tried, gently removing the man’s pants, ring, and socks. 

“What?”  Scott grumbled into the bed.

“You need to take your meds.”  Reyes said, turning the exhausted man over onto his back and helping him sit up against his own chest.

Scott nodded without a word and accepted the pills and water from his fiancé, downing them in one motion before burrowing his face into the man’s chest.  He felt the rumble of laughter as Reyes laid back in bed with him and pulled the blankets over his partner. 

“Stay?”  Scott asked, eyes cracking back open for a moment.

“Yeah, for a little bit.”  Reyes whispered, kissing the man’s cheek.

-

Scott turned down his radio as he walked into the hospital, back on shift only a few days later from his double because Cora was still out sick and Mitch was on vacation leaving just him and Marcus to act as supervisors for the week.  He had parked his truck at the ER to check in with Jay between calls.  It had already been a long day for the district and the coming night wasn’t going to be any better. 

“Are you here to see someone?”  A nurse asked him.

“Yeah, Jay Halstead.”  Scott said.

“Room 223, visiting hours end in two hours.”  The nurse said.

Thanking the nurse he made his way to the elevator hitting the button to the second floor.  At least the detective was in a recovery room and not one of the ER or ICU beds he had spent too much time in over his life in this city.  Cracking open the door to his room he glanced inside to catch the surprised gazes of Erin and Jay as he walked in.

“Hey, just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing.”  Scott said quietly standing at the foot of the man’s bed.

Jay didn’t look to worse for wear, a few bandages on his face along with some that would their way down his chest under the blankets. 

“Doing good all things considered, who do I have to thank for the broken ribs?”  Jay asked, laughing slightly and letting out a few coughs.

“That would be Reyes half a dozen rounds of CPR, if it makes you feel any better his arms hurt afterward.”  Scott explained, chuckling under his breath as he earned a snort from the woman.

“So much better, how are things with you?”  Jay asked.

“Could be better considering I’ve only had one day off this week, but it could be worse.”  Scott said, checking his phone for calls just in case.

“How long of shifts do you guys work?”  Erin asked.

“24 hour for the normal firefighters, 26 for supervisors and even then I depends if the next supervisor comes in.  Right now our station is down to two, so we’re pulling longer days.”  Scott explained.

“Damn, so do you and Reyes ever see each other?”  Erin asked, leaning back in her chair, thumb rubbing gently over Jay’s hand.

“On calls we do, our schedules usually overlap so ours days off are at the same times.”  Scott explained as he radio vibrated on his hip.

“Fire 1, we have a MVA, ten reported cars involved.  10th and Georgetown.”  Dispatch said.

“10-4, I’m on my way send out four trucks.”  Scott radioed back.  “Sorry, I’m glad you’re feeling better.” 

With that Scott sprinted down the stairwell of the hospital, narrowly smack into a nurse as he made his way back to his truck.  Starting the engine he blared the horn and sirens as he pulled out of the parking lot, several ambulance following in his trail.  Making his way through the afternoon traffic was always a stressful venture.  Laying on his horn he made his way through the rush hour traffic until he reached the bridge where the massive pile up was. 

There were at least half a dozen cars and two semi-trucks from what he could make out as he parked to the side to allow the ambulances to get closer.  Jumping out of his truck he grabbed his medical kit from the back and ran toward the scene.  Three of his fire crews were already here, pulling people from the wreckage for triage.

The scene would be one of nightmares, screaming people and crying children.  He ran toward one car that held an infant and toddler, over turned.  Their mother in the front seat obviously already gone with matter oozing from the sizable gash in her skull.  Working quickly he grabbed the nearly newborn baby from its car seat in one arm and grabbed the toddler with his other. 

The small toddler tucked his face into his shirt, whimpering softly as he made his way back to his truck seeing the ambulances already full.  Setting the infant down on his back seat he rubbed gentle circles into the toddler’s back, checking over the infant with his hand once the toddler quieted against his shoulder. 

Luckily he found no sign of injury on either child, a small mercy for the carnage of the afternoon.  The infant’s lip still quivered as he took a seat on the floor of the back seats.  The toddler had all but refused his attempts to remove him from his shoulder, whimpering quietly as the rest of the crews worked the scene. 

It seemed like hours before the tow trucks arrived and the street started to become clean again.  He caught sight of Reyes working in front of him, hands on his knees and eyes closed as he refocused himself.  His fire crews had done a remarkable job saving lives and using their training to its fullest extent. 

“Hey, those two ok?”  Liam asked, walking over to him with his medical bag over his shoulder.

“Yeah, just shook up.  Their mother was in the white sedan.”  Scott explained, gently rocking the toddler back and forth as a look of sorrow came over Liam’s face.

“Ok, we can transport them.  You should go talk to Reyes, he’s a little overwhelmed at the moment and I don’t want to call our supervisor to send him home.”  Liam said, gently lifting the infant into the crook of his arm. 

Reyes had progressed to puking on the side of the road, still bent over with his hands on his knees.  Scott tried to set the toddler down on the stretcher to no avail, the boy instantly crying his eyes out and scrambling to press his face back into the firefighter’s shoulder.

“Reyes, you ok?”  Scott asked, gently bouncing the boy to get him to quiet down.

“Yeah, one second.”  Reyes said, spitting onto the ground before standing up.

“You sure, Liam said you needed to talk.”  Scott said quietly.

“It’s been a long fucking day Scott, sorry.”  Reyes snapped, immediately deflating when he realized how harsh his tone was.

Scott didn’t say a word, just walked forward to wrap his free arm around the man’s shoulders and pull him close.  The paramedic went into the embrace wordlessly, laying his head on the man’s shoulder and sighing deeply.  The toddler who had stopped whining looked at the new addition with curiosity, one hand drifting over to pull at the man’s unruly hair.  Snickering Scott gently pulled the boys hand away from his tensing partner. 

“Be nice little boy.”  Scott whispered, earning a chuckle from the paramedic.

“He’s alright.”  Reyes said, lifting up his head to make a face at the toddler that had him giggling happily.

“Hey sickening couple, time to head out.”  Liam yelled from his seat on the bumper of the ambulance, busy feeding the infant some formula from their small stock in the truck.

“Here, I’ll take him.”  Reyes said, gently threading his hands under the toddler’s shoulders to take him from the firefighter.

“You’re sure you’ll be ok for the rest of your shift?”  Scott asked, reaching down to turn his radio back up.

“Yeah, I’ll talk a little more once we’re home.  But for now I’m alright.”  Reyes said, smiling as he climbed into the back of the ambulance. 

-

Sighing he kicked his feet up on top of his desk and leaned back in his creaky desk chair.  It had been a month or so since the tough few weeks in the department and he was just starting to get used to normal shifts with enough firefighters and supervisors to allow him to take a moment of rest for once.  Cora shook her head in amusement across from him, still going over emails for the morning.

“Comfy?”  She asked, letting out a long breath as she leaned forward to take a sip of her coffee.

“Content.”  He replied, grabbing one of his stack of reports to start reading through.

“ _Mass casualty on 15 th and 6th, fire department rescue requested_.”  The intercom said making both of their bodies go cold, that was the elementary school.

Both supervisors immediately scrambled out of their chairs to run to the garage bay.  All four fire crews were looking at them for direction, each suited up with a look of worry and determination. 

“Scott take your truck and one and two, I’ll take mine and truck three and four.  The situation might not be secured when we get there, so be ready for anything.”  Cora ordered.

Speeding down the twisting city roads, the rest of the department followed closely behind him as he turned the corner to the school.  In front of the colorful building were at least a dozen police cars and half as many ambulances.  Stopping his truck on the front sidewalk of the playground he immediately got out and strode toward the nearest police officer.

“What’s the situation?”  Scott asked.

“Two shooters, one down.  At least six classes are still in there.”  The man said.

“Where are the classes?”  Scott asked, already halfway back to his truck to grab his backpack with supplies. 

“Sir, we can’t let you guys go in there just yet.”  The officer said, keeping one eye warily on the building.

“With all due respect officer, the longer we wait the more of a chance a wounded child or teacher in there won’t make it.”  Scott said turning back to his crew.

“We can’t let you in there.”  The officer pushed.

“Get ready to move in, stay safe and try to get as many out as you can.  Cora we’re going in from the south entrance.”  Scott said, his crew nodding.

“That loaded?”  Scott asked, pointing to the man’s pistol.

“Yeah.”  The man answered, hands tightly gripping his assault rifle.

“Good, tell your chief that we’re going in.”  Scott said, grabbing the pistol from the man’s belt and checking the magazine before cocking back the action.

One of his firefighter’s wrenched open the locked door with his crow bar as Scott lead the way in with the pistol held tightly in his expert hands.  His training from the marines kicked back in almost instantly, clearing classrooms and other rooms as they went, not finding any shooter or children.  Until they got to the end of the hall, where blood, glass, and small whimpers filled the environment. 

Stowing the gun into his belt he peaked into the doorway to find a collection of at least a dozen children and two teachers.  At least three of the children were wounded, while two lie under blankets not with the world any longer.  His heart immediately stopped as he saw Blake cowering beside one of his teachers, blood soaking his right pant leg and left shoulder of his superman shirt.

“Greg, take Tris and escort this class outside.  One firefighter per wounded, Yen take the rest of truck two and clear the next hallway, be careful and wait for us to come back before you do another.”  Scott ordered, gently picking up the whimpering boy.

It broke his heart to be holding him like this, the once happy boy crying softly into his shoulder as he speed walked down the hall and out the door of the building.  The officer guarding the entrance looked at them in surprise, immediately bringing up his radio to talk to his chief.  Scott on the other hand ignored him completely and all but ran Blake to Reyes who had already ran to them as soon as he say Scott come out. 

“Give him here, there’s still more in there.”  Reyes said, gently taking Blake from him before disappearing into the back of his ambulance.

It took two more hours to clear everyone from the building.  Most of his firefighter’s jackets dotted with patches of blood not their own.  Ten children had died in the shooting, seventeen hurt in one way or another.  As soon as Scott could he tore off his blood stained jacket and threw it in one of metal cabinets in the back of the truck.  Leaning over the front bumper he emptied his stomach into a sewer drain, coughing on bile as a soft hand landed on his back.  Cora stood above him, tears welling in her already red and bloodshot eyes as she hugged him tightly.

“Thank you.”  She whispered, soaking his shirt with tears.

Scott choked on a few tries at words before just pulling the woman close and sighing.  Within moments another presence joined them, Scott looking up to find the scared eyes of Sam as he looked between them and the police cordoned school.  Without a word Scott pulled away from the woman and turned her around for Sam to latch onto instead.

“I’ll take the rest of the shift, you go with Sam and get to Blake.  I’ll have someone drive your truck back.”  Scott said, smiling sadly as the woman nodded.

-

Scott sighed as he clutched the gift bag tightly in one hand and held Reyes hand with the other.  He was really starting to hate visiting this hospital, walking into the pediatric ICU desk.  The Latin man beside him immediately spoke to the nurse as he looked around at the colorful wall and toys strew about desks and benches.  A few children laughing down the hallway as Reyes pulled at his arm.

Walking down to nearly the end of the hall Reyes knocked softly on the blue painted door.  Sam was the one to answer, surprised expression immediately turning into one of warmth as he gestured for them to come in.  Blake was propped up in a smaller hospital bed, blankets covering up to his mid chest, ending where the bandages covering his shoulder and arm in a sling began.  Cora was sitting beside him, gently helping him hold his coloring book as the boy tried to manage with only one arm free at the moment.

“Hey bud.”  Scott whispered, prompting the boy to look up with a smile.

“Hi Uncle Scott, hi Uncle Reyes.”  Blake said, voice slightly slurred from the pain mediation he was no doubt on.

“We brought you something.”  Scott said, setting the heavy bag in the boys lap.

Blake looked at them in confusion before peering into the sizable bag.  His eyes seemed to light up as he turned the bag over and dumped the contents into his lap.  A few bags of his favorite candy, some coloring books, and a new superman shirt.

“Thank you.”  Blake said, smiling ear to ear as he hugged the soft shirt to his chest.

“You’re welcome buddy.”  Reyes said, taking a seat in one of the free chairs at the foot of his bed.

They talked for a few hours, the toll of the day and medication eventually wearing the boy out as he fell asleep.  Sam gently cleared the coloring supplies from his son’s lap as Cora pulled up the blankets and kissed him on the forehead.

“How’s he doing?”  Scott asked softly, accepting a cup of coffee from the tray Reyes had gone to get.

“He’s in shock, but his attitude helps.  The doctors had to amputate his leg above the knee because of the damage that the bullet did, we’ll just have to help him through it.”  Cora said, wiping her eyes with her hand.

Looking down at the steaming cup of coffee in his hands, he completely missed the warm hand on the small of his back as he took a seat next to him.  Mind blank as he listened to the gentle chirping of the birds outside the cracked window.  A gentle breeze whistling thought the space.  He never thought the he would ever be in this position when he stood in the doorway of the fire station his first day, Mitch smirking from behind his cup of coffee as he sized up his new recruit. 

It had all been simple back then.  Twenty four hours on, forty eight off.  Responding to fires that had destroyed homes, but being there to give families hope in the form of simple human kindness or monetary donations.  They were the good guys that made a difference.  Now they were responding to shootings, seeing death every day.  He had seen enough of that in the marines, this wasn’t supposed to be like that. 

“Anything you need, we’re here.”  Reyes said, reaching over to squeeze his partner’s wrist. 

“We appreciate it.”  Sam said quietly, thoughts flying in his own mind. 

“We’ll let you guys have some quiet.”  The paramedic said, pulling at his silent partner to get up so that they could let Cora and Sam rest after the chaos of the last few days.

They were quiet until making it back to their car, Reyes taking the driver’s seat as Scott sat down heavily in the passenger seat and stared to his side out the window.  Leaving the parking garage, passing abandoned homes, and watching several police units rush past them on the opposite side of the road he just sighed and rubbed at his eyes.

“Are you ok?  You haven’t been very, like yourself lately.”  Reyes asked, glancing over briefly to take in his fiancé’s exhausted demeanor. 

“I just wanted to be a firefighter, you know.  Protect people, make a difference.  Not switch back into marine mode at a fucking school shooting.”  Scott explained, stopping himself short of slamming his fist into the hand rest.

“I’ll admit the city has gone downhill, but there always has to be hope in making that difference Scott.  Even though some days you might just been acting as a levy against the tide, you’re still helping.”  Reyes said, reaching over to take one of his partner’s hands in his. 

“I don’t…”  Scott started as his phone rang from the center console cup holder. 

Cursing under his breath as he looked at the number on the screen he hit the green answer symbol and held the device up to his ear with his other hand pulled from the Latino mans to pinch the bridge of his nose, eyes scrunched in frustration.  Nodding along to the voice on the other end of the phone, he eventually answered with a sighed yes before setting the phone down on his lap. 

“Can you drop me off at the station, Mitch just called in sick and Marcus already pulled a double.”  Scott asked, reaching back over to take ahold of the man’s hand.

“Yeah, I’m mean it’s not like you didn’t just work a double.”  The man sneered, turning the car around in a drug store parking lot to drive back toward the station.

“Reyes we’ve already had this conversation, and it’s not like Cora can come in.”  Scott said, reaching back to grab his backpack out of the back seat as they turned onto the road the station was on.

“I know, I just wish that they would hire some more supervisors.”  The paramedic said, turning into the station’s parking lot.

“Everything’s up in the air since they elected the new mayor, maybe it’ll get better.”  Scott said, leaning over to kiss the man on the lips before opening his door, only to have his sleeve caught by the man.

“Be safe alright, I’ll set up something nice at home when you get off.”  Reyes said, smiling warmly at his partner.

“It better involve rose pedals leading to you naked in our bed, with take out because we both know you can’t cook to save your life.”  The fire fighter said, smirking genuinely for the first time in a few weeks.

“That’s hurtful, true, but hurtful.  Have a good shift.”  The man said, winking as his partner laughed and shut the car door before walking into the station.

Walking to the back of the station, he turned the corner to the locker room.  Unlocking his padlock with his spare key, he started stripping himself out of his street clothes as Marcus walked in from the truck bay looking beyond exhausted. 

“Another day in paradise huh?”  Scott asked, slipping on his cargo pants before grabbing his polo shirt. 

“You have no idea, we had to dip into the auxiliary fuel tanks in the back lot after my first shift.  Then having to coordinate a fuel tanker from the refinery, so much fun.  You hear they kicked the fire chief out of office this morning?”  Marcus asked, shoving his dirty gear into a laundry bag.

“Not surprised, but no I didn’t hear.  Too busy trying to have a day off for once.”  Scott said, buckling his utility belt, checking the battery in his radio and phone.

“I have a feeling things are going to get better.”  Marcus said, winking before starting to walk toward the offices.

“What the hell are you up to?”  Scott yelled, receiving no answer as he shut his locker. 

Sighing to himself, he walked out to the truck bay to getting a reading on what crew he had for his shift as well as the mood.  How they were doing could influence how he needed to direct them on calls.  An energetic crew could easily be maneuvered into position while a tired one could prove agitated and confrontational at the slightest drop of a commanding tone from him.  Running all of this through his head, he didn’t plan to see Mitch smirking at him from his position leaning on truck one.

“About time you showed up, getting nice and slow in your high status.”  Mitch said, walking forward to pat the stunned man on the shoulder.

“Why the fuck am I here?”  Scott asked, deflating as he leveled an unimpressed stare at the older man.

“That’s not the language that I would expect from a supervisor.”  Rachel, their newly appointed government supervisor asked, walking up beside Mitch in her pressed pant suit.

“Great an ambush.”  He sighed, looking down at his scuffed boots.

“With a reason believe or not.  Come sit down.”  Rachel said, pointing them to one of the empty white plastic fold out tables as Mitch followed behind him. 

Looking around the truck bay was devoid of any other crew members, which should have been keyed him in that something was going on.  Having their supervisor and his mentor pull him aside for a meeting was even more nerve racking. 

“Am I getting fired, because the whole salt instead of sugar thing in Mitch’s birthday cake was not my fault?”  Scott tried, earning a chuckle from the pair.

“No, just listen kid.”  Mitch said, leaning back in his chair.

“Mayor Julia Powell has been considering the removal of the city fire chief for a while now.  She has also been looking at viable replacements during that time that she and her cabinet think would make an excellent replacement.  So at the recommendation of many people from various councils and departments, you are being nominated for the position pending public council vote next week if you accept.”  She explained, sliding over a copy of the job description and nomination with a red x on the signature line.

“There are so many other advisors with more experience than me though.”  Scott said, flipping through the pages of a packet filled with names of people that had recommended him.

“You’ve done great things with this station and the department in your years on duty.  Not giving up when you got hurt, but pushing through and taking care of your crew and the people of this city.  You’re a hero for what you did at that school.”  Rachel said, smiling warmly as he held the packet.

“We hear you talking about wanting things to get better Scott, but you don’t have the power as a station supervisor do something about it.  I read the appeals you have stacked on your desk, you can put that stuff into action with this position.”  Mitch pushed, watching the man’s hand twitch toward the blue department pen on the table.

Grabbing the pen, he thumbed over the gold writing along the surface.  Then looking down to the bold letters on the paper in front of him. 

**The Mayor of Weston with the Council of Public Services**

**extends this nomination for the position of**

** FIRE CHIEF OF THE CITY OF WESTON **

**To**

** SCOTT A. RYDER **

**To accept this nomination, sign on the bottom line of the attached form and plan to arrive at the city courthouse on the date listed below for a public council vote on the above position.**

** 10:00am March 8th **

****

Clicking the pen he sighed his name at the bottom of the form before handing that page to Rachel with a determined smile.  At least he could have the chance at trying to change things for the better now, with city support.  Being able to align the fire departments of the city and work with the police, hopefully things would move in a positive direction.

“I look forward to seeing you at the meeting, in your dress uniform by the way.”  Rachel said, collecting the papers in her bag before shaking his hand and taking her leave. 

“You’re also free to go home for your days off today and tomorrow.  We’ll give you a lift in the truck.”  Mitch said, jumping into the supervisor truck with Scott after he changed back into his normal clothes, pulling out onto the road.

“Do you really think that I can do this Mitch?”  Scott found himself asking, hand clutching the first page of the nomination.

“Look Scott, I was the first person that talked to you the day you came to the fire station.  What did you say to me when I asked you what the hell you were there for?”  The older man asked, looking over at him as they stopped at a red light.

“I’m here to fight fires and kick ass and I already had some ass today.”  Scott said, cringing in embarrassment at the memory. 

“Yep, and I thought you were the dumbest kid that day.  But as you progressed through training and went on calls I could see that there was some potential in you.  What really set you apart was how you handled those few hard months, stepping in even when you were down to help out this station and make sure things got done right.”  Mitch explained, turning onto the road that led to his suburb.

“Yeah, I’m a worker though, not a…”  He started before the man cut him off with a look. 

“You are a leader, don’t even start with that talk.  That potential I saw in you back then is still there now, and I think it’s finally going to come out in a force with this.”  Mitch said, parking the truck in his driveway and leveling him with a serious stare.

“I can call you if I need advice right?”  Scott asked, grabbing his bag and stepping out of the truck.

“Of course you can, now go relax with Reyes for a few days.  Then when you come back to work, I’ll go through the job description with you and make sure you’re prepared for the eighth.”  He said, smiling as the man closed the truck door, leaning in the window with a smile.

“Thank you Mitch, I appreciate it.  Stay safe ok?”  Scott replied, stepping back from the truck window to start walking toward the front door.

“I’ll do my best.”  Mitch yelled, backing out of the driveway.

Walking up the narrow paved path, he opened the door to find his fiancé cleaning in the kitchen with his small radio on the counter belting out some songs that he himself couldn’t understand because of the Spanish lyrics.  But with his partner shaking his hips to the beat, it made him smile in the dopiest, most whipped way as he set his bag down and shut the door with enough noise to get the man’s attention.

“Why are you home?”  Reyes asked, turning down the radio to a whisper as he set his cleaning gloves down on the counter.

“Turns out it was an ambush by Rachel and Mitch to bring this to my attention.”  Scott said, handing the piece of paper to his fiancé before retreating to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

“They, want to make you fire chief of the city?”  Reyes asked in disbelief, rereading the nomination over and over.

“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”  The fire fighter said, nervously sipping his water.

“No, that’s not, my tone wasn’t good.  This is amazing Scott, look at all these names.  You signed it?”  The paramedic asked, walking up beside his man with a wide smile as he flipped through the pages of names from fire officials, police, and citizens alike.

“Yeah, there’s still the council vote, so…”  Scott said, shifting from foot to foot as his partner dropped the papers on the counter to capture his lips in a passionate kiss.

“They’re gonna love you, don’t worry about anything else.  Go settle down on the couch while I finish cleaning and then maybe we can go out tonight, have a little us time.”  Reyes proposed, kissing his man on the cheek one last time before slipping away.

Smiling, he took his glass of water and went to the couch, glancing back once more to watch his partner turn back on his radio and start moving again.  Settling in the cushions, he leaned his head back and took a deep breath.  Setting the water glass on the side table, closing his eyes, and kicking his shoes off under the coffee table.  He had started to toe the line of unconsciousness when a weight settled across his lap. 

Gentle hands running up his lax arms to end at his shoulders, with a soft pair of lips touching his forehead.  Smiling, he reached up his hands to set on the Latino man’s hips, opening his eyes to meet the warm golden brown stare of his fiancé.  Lips coming up to meet his in a lazy embrace.  Parting with a smile as the man just cradled himself against his chest with a content sigh.

“I can’t believe I’m about to be in bed with the fire chief, the scandalous things they will write about us.”  Reyes whispered, hands trailing down to the hem of the fire fighter’s shirt.

“Are you going to be ok with that spotlight on us?”  Scott asked quietly, shivering at the man’s cool hands teased his stomach. 

“It’s not like we have anything to hide right?”  The man asked, slipping a hand under his partner’s waistband.

“Oh there’s plenty of you that I want to keep to myself.”  The fire fighter gasped, squeezing down on the man’s hips.

“I’m sure we’ll get a handle of it when the times comes, but for now let’s enjoy ourselves hmm?”  Reyes proposed, pushing the man down onto the couch under him.

-

Shivering under his thick jacket, he slammed the bottom of his foot against the metal wrench in an effort to get the frozen hydrant bolt to move so that they could get more than one hose on the roaring apartment fire behind him.  The winter storm that had decided to blanket the city this weekend had turned from a downpour, to freezing rain, and then coating the volatile mixture in a thin layer of snow that was still continuing to fall. 

They were failing to get to each call as quickly as they could before due to the conditions, putting their own crews on the dangerous roads to try and get to those that needed them.  This frozen hydrant was just making their job that much worse as new calls came in over his headset.  Cora was still out taking care of Blake and would be for the next few weeks.  Mitch and Marcus were supporting him as much as they could, but only having three supervisors for seven days was started to take a toll on them.  At least they had started training a few other senior fire fighters to start filling in, especially with his pending promotion.

“The torch is out of fuel sir.”  Rick, one of the rookies said as he ran up to him. 

The torch was a handheld grass burner that was usually used by farmers to clear out dead foliage so that they could plant.  They kept one or two in the station during the winter to help defrost hydrants.  Kicking the wrench again in frustration, the bolt finally turned enough to let water start flowing into their hose.  Turning to the rookie with an unimpressed expression, he desperately tried to work feeling back into his hands.

“You’re in charge of fueling it up when we get back then.  It needs to be operational in this kind of weather.”  Scott chastised before turning to the fire in progress.

“Of course sir, where do you want me?”  Rick asked, adjusting his gloves in the blowing wind.

“Help get this hose working, listen to your squad leader.”  He directed, slipping and sliding as he made his way over to the other truck working the fire.

“Sir, dispatch was trying to get ahold of you.  There’s a wreck on I19 that truck three is responding to.  They’re asking for your assistance.”  Harold relayed, spraying the building with gallons of water as the smoke started to lighten.

“Got it, you guys will be alright here?”  Scott asked, turning up his radio as he got his footing back to start moving toward his truck.

“We’ll be alright, I’ll make sure the paper work gets on your desk when we get back.”  The fire fighter said, focusing his attention back on the building.

Jumping into his truck, he cranked the heat up as far as he could, throwing his soaked gloves on top of the defrost fans before shifting into gear to start toward the interstate.  Snow was starting to come down in white out sheets now, making traveling any faster than ten miles per hour impossible.  He could see other citizens and tow truck operators pulling people out of the ditches.  But he was unable to stop and help as he listened to the updates coming in over his radio.

_“MVA, two tractor trailers and four cars involved in accident.  Requesting additional fire, police, and ems units to the scene.  Notice, the oil tanker next to the wreck has started emitted smoke.”_

Cursing under his breath, he switched on his four wheel drive and turned his sirens up to their maximum volume as he sped through traffic toward the on ramp.  Tires skidding as they hit patches of ice, he gritted his teeth as he saw the outline of flashing lights through the snow.  Passing the line of cars police were in the process of evacuating from the containment area if the tanker blew, he stopped just on the edge of the gathered emergency response vehicles. 

Reaching into his back seat, he grabbed a pair of rubber soles covered on the bottom with metal spikes that he could strap onto the bottom of his boots.  He wasn’t able to grab them on the last job and he had paid the price by busting his ass on the ice half a dozen times.  With the threat of a burning tanker, he couldn’t take that chance.  With a new pair of dry gloves, he grabbed his helmet and ran toward the main scene. 

From where he was, he could see the smoke billowing out of the tanker from where a fire had managed to start inside.  Their only problem now was the amount of toxic material in the smoke and the neighborhoods nearby.  Seeing that truck three was already busy trying to contain the fire in the cab of the truck, he ran over to the police officer in charge to get an update on the situation.

“Hey Ryder, glad we could catch you.  This fire needs to be put out now, the paramedics are still trying to get to the people in the car trapped under the tanker.”  Officer Mendoza explained.

“Understood.”  Scott said, jogging over to truck three.

Wrenching open the large compartment on the back of the truck, he let out a sigh of relief.  Truck three had responded to his crash for a reason.  It was the one vehicle in their arsenal that carried five hundred pounds of mixable retardant made for putting out hazardous waste fires.  Pulling out three, five gallon buckets, the electric mixer, and three bags of the powder.  Hauling his supplies over the smaller water tank nozzle that was housed in the truck itself, he started mixing the retardant up.

Opening another cabinet, he fitted himself with an oxygen tank and mask.  Testing his air, he grabbed the three full buckets and walked toward the tanker.  Glancing to his side, Liam and Reyes were waiting anxiously beside their ambulance, knowing that they couldn’t get near the people that needed them with that much toxic smoke in the air. 

Setting two buckets on the ground, he grabbed ahold the side ladder on the tanker and started to hoist himself up.  Trying to keep his grip on the handles, and climb with only one arm was no small feat, almost losing his grip a few times before reaching the top.  Even with the mask securely suctioned over his face, the smoke bellowing out from the opening on top of the tanker was still managing to sting his eyes and throat and he helped the bucket up to pour the liquid into the burning fuel. 

Coughing roughly, he slid back down to the ground to grab the next bucket, thankful that even with the small batch the smoke had started to ease up a little.  Turning up the oxygen on his tank, he grabbed the next bucket and headed up the ladder.  Repeating his actions before going back down for the final bucket.  Making it to the top of the truck with the last bucket, he breathed a sigh of relief as the smoke slowed to a stop, the fuel successfully put out. 

Making his way back down the ladder, he just caught a rung of the ladder that had newly iced over with his single hand, his hand slid.  Unable to catch his grip after dropping the bucket in surprise, he fell the ten or so feet to the ground before hitting the ground back/tank first.  Looking up he just caught the concerned look of his fiancé who he had nearly landed on, falling short by a foot or so. 

“God I hate winter.”  Scott mumbled, accepting the helping hand up as the paramedic smirked before getting back to his job at hand. 

_“Dispatch to Ryder, your assistance is being requested at a structure fire on 18th and Yankee.”_

“Go ahead sir, we’ve got it here now.  Thanks for the help.”  Truck three’s leader said, taking the three empty buckets and the oxygen tank from his supervisor.

“Of course, remind me to teach you guys how to mix up that stuff when we get back.”  Scott said, his fire fighter nodding as they parted ways.

Walking back to his truck, he cringed at the smell of the burnt fuel that was now sticking to his clothes.  Pulling away from the wreck, he plugged the new address into his navigation and started that way. 

“Dispatch this is Ryder, what is the situation at 18th and Yankee?”  He asked into the headset he had stuffed in his ear.

_“Currently truck four is the only available unit and the structure is a five story apartment complex that has not been cleared yet by police units.”_

“Got it dispatch, be there in ten.”  He said, ramping up his speed.

He just managed to turn onto 18th on a green light when he heard screeching tires to his coming up behind him.  Looking in the reviewer mirror, he just caught sight of a tractor trailer before it smashed into the back of his truck.  Catching the steering wheel and cranking it to the right to avoid colliding with the front of a restaurant, he successfully managed to stop his truck in the opposite lane of traffic.  Wincing at the ache in his lower back and shoulders from the collision as well as the fall off the tanker, he opened his door and stepped out onto the ice. 

“Shit, are you alright, I couldn’t see the red light and you just pulled out, and oh shit.”  The trucker, a man no younger than fifty rambled.  Skidding over to him.

“I’m ok, the weather isn’t exactly the best.  Can you move your, shit.”  Scott added before actually looking up. 

The double trailer semi was now jackknifed across all four lanes of traffic, one of the trailer’s doors having broken open on impact.  Spilling their contents of bottles upon bottles of engine oil over the roadway.  If this wasn’t turning out to be shittiest day at work, it would at least make the top five.  Grabbing the radio attached to his hip, he pinched the bridge of his nose before hitting the call button.

“Dispatch I’d hate to make your night any worse, but we now have a two vehicle collision on 18th and Jefferson.  Tractor trailer now blocking all four lanes of traffic with engine oil cargo spillage.  My truck was the second vehicle, so I won’t be making it to that fire anytime soon.”  He explained, guiding the quivering driver into the back seat of his vehicle to keep him out of the cold.

_“Rodger, units from the southern district are going to respond with a tow company.  Is ems needed on scene?”_

“No, I think we’re both alright.  Thank you dispatch.”  He said, walking around the back of his truck to survey the damage.

_“Affirmative, there is an ems unit returning to base that is going to stop by regardless to be safe.”_

“Great they’re sending my fiancé to worry about me.”  He muttered to himself as he kicked the bumper that was barely hanging on so that it came off completely.

The truck wasn’t too badly broken up from what he could tell.  There was a sizable dent in the back that had most likely compromised the first line of cabinets, but at least he chose to carry his oxygen tanks in the most secure front ones.  A few days at the body shop and it would be back on the road pending any serious maintenance issues that he couldn’t see.  Looking up at the sound of sirens, he just caught sight of the southern district’s two trucks as well as the towing company’s three vehicles.

“Hell of night Ryder.”  Marty, the supervisor for the southern district tonight said shaking his hand.

“You’re telling me.”  Scott mumbled, accepting a silent invitation to go sit in the other supervisor’s truck. 

“Feel free to get comfy, dispatch has given me strict orders to make sure you get into an ambulance to get checked out.  We sent a truck down to help with the structure, and we’ll get this sorted for you so relax and get the fucking jacket off.”  The man said, taking the fuel reeking garment from him before shutting the back door.

Sighing dramatically, he laid himself down along the back seat bench and closed his eyes.  He was stressed and tired from having to work these long hours and work out the final details of his promotion.  Worrying enough that Reyes had been working extra hours just to get him calmed down enough to sleep at the end of his shifts.  A true disservice to the man who was up to his waist in his own work.  Finally pursuing his final certification to earn a promotion himself from paramedic to a PHRN or prehospital registered nurse. 

It would give the man a wider scope of abilities to assist the ambulance crews in helping serous trauma patients as well as be able to access skills that only a registered nurse could employ.  The man had been working tirelessly on his days off to earn clinical hours and study for his board exam.  Scott was beyond proud that he was moving up in the world and toward his degree and certification.  The extra income wouldn’t hurt and the man would get closer to getting the ultimate goal of his medical degree.

Smiling to himself, he almost missed the knocking on the window of the truck.  Opening his eyes he caught the smirk of Liam before the man was quickly pushed out of the way by his fiancé opening the door.  A shiver ran through his body at the assault of the cold air entering the once warm cab.  Before he could even make a move to get up a backboard was being shoved under him as his partner worked strap around his body.

“Reyes, I’m fine.  Is this really necessary?”  Scott asked, yelping as he was slid down a foot of empty space onto a stretcher.

“You were walking around with a potential back injury, you’re not fine.  Did you even see your truck?”  Liam asked, throwing a blanket over him as they pushed him toward the ambulance.

“I’m fine, just sore from the miss step on the tanker.”  He tried, wincing as they wheeled him up into the ambulance earning an unimpressed stare from his partner.

“You’re not getting out of the scans they have to do at the hospital so you might as well cooperate with us.”  Reyes huffed, sitting down heavily in his seat as he started hooking up monitors while Liam stripped him down to his boxers, clothes shoved into a bag.

“You ok?”  Scott asked, whimpering under his breath as the man slid a strap under his back attached to foam blocks that would prevent his back from shifting on the way to the hospital.

“It’s, been a hard night.  Out of seven accident’s we’ve responded too, only three people are still alive at the hospital.  They’re starting to talk about pulling from other districts to take the strain off of us.”  Liam explained, reaching over to squeeze his coworker’s shoulder.

“Reyes?”  He pushed, grabbing ahold of the man’s dirt stained sleeve as he moved to pull away from where he had been securing the braces.

“If they send you home, could you set up a movie and some take out from the pizza tavern for when I get off.  I just, need something nice.”  The paramedic whispered, sitting down as Liam started the ambulance, closing the window to the back cab to give them some privacy.

“Of course, but if you need to then call your supervisor and tell them that you’re at your breaking point.  No use trying to make it through the next ten hours if you can’t be effective.”  Scott said, pressing small kisses to the hand that his partner had let him keep ahold of.

“I know, we’ll be on an hour break after we take you in, so it’ll give me a little to clear my head.”  He explained, laughing slightly as his partner caught a ticklish part of his wrist.

“Good, you think they’ll let me nap in during the scans?”  He asked, yawning.

“Probably not, but I do hope they let you off for the night.”  Reyes said, glancing out the window as they started backing up to the intake doors for the emergency room.

“With how tonight has been going, please.  They’ll throw me out in an hour and I’ll be back on calls like nothing happened.  Maybe getting the shit clawed out of me by a cat in a tree.”  Scott deadpanned, earning a chuckled from his partner as they stopped.

“Careful what you wish for.”  He warned as Liam opened the doors.

-

Slamming his truck door with a frustrated huff, he rubbed the small of his back where the doctors had injected him with a small dose of pain medication.  The district was too busy and with clear scans save some inflammation, he didn’t have cause to go home for the night.  He was back in his truck, the towing company having sledgehammered the dents out of the back so that is was road worthy for at least his shift.  He should have really watched his mouth though.

Not two minutes out of the hospital after turning his radio back on had he gotten a sense of the shit storm that was hitting his station and the city.  All of his trucks were responding to serious situations on their own, doing well all things considers.  That’s why he had been the only one available to rescue Mr. Abernathy’s cat from a fifteen foot power pole.  The gray tabby trying to scratch the hell of him the whole way down the ladder as the storm blew in earnest.  Looking at the smug cat licking his paw in his passenger seat, wrapped in a blanket, he held eye contact with the green eyed monster as it hissed intermittently at him.

“Fuck you too Whiskers.”  Scott stated, earning a loud hiss as he started driving toward the fugitive’s home.

Arriving at the address, he grabbed the cat by the nape of its neck and all but smothered it in the blanket as it tried to get one last swipe him.  An elderly man opened the door with a broad smile on his face, completely uncaring that the fire fighter was on the verge of getting flayed by his pet.

“Whiskers, oh come here my boy.  Thank you so much for finding him.  Were you a good boy Whiskers, yes you were.”  Mr. Abernathy cooed taking the bundle from him causing the cat to calm down almost immediately.

“Best cat ever, have a good night sir.”  Scott forced out behind a fake smile as he retreated back to his truck.

Driving back to the station, his radio was blissfully silent, prompting him to check the battery level more than once.  Parking behind on of the larger trucks, he stepped gingerly out of his vehicle and stretched his sore muscles.  Most of the fire fighters on shift for the night had hauled their bunks down from the sleeping area above the truck bay and were sleeping in between calls still fully dressed in their gear.  Smiling, he gently eased the helmets off at least seven people before turning down the lights in the truck bay.

Walking back to his office, he turned on the light to reveal a stack of hastily written reports.  Some typed out, others filled in forms, a few scribbled napkins.  Sitting down heavily in his cushy chair, he opened his lap top and turned it on, looking down to make sure it was plugged in.  Six more hours and he could go home, order some pizza, and crash on the couch until his partner got home two hours after him.  But for now he had paper work to do.

“Hey boss, got a few more for you.”  One of his squad leader’s Anderson said, setting a folder of papers down on his desk.

“If I could make you guys fill out these reports I would, go get some rest Anderson.”  Scott said, smiling as he tossed the folder onto the pile as he opened his station database.

_“Dispatch to Ryder, can we get a status update on your station?”_

Taking a deep breath, he grabbed his radio from his hip and walked toward the truck bay.  Taking a quick glance to see that he had all four trucks back in the bay, his crews either in the middle of eating, sleeping, or washing the last job off themselves, he walked back to his office.

“Dispatch, all trucks are in station with crews ready for service.”  Scott relayed, setting the device down on his desk before starting in on the first report.

_“Copy Ryder, the line is clear for now.”_

“Thank you dispatch.”  He said, rushing through reports as fast as he could before another call came in and made his work load that much worse.

Finishing up through the napkins, he breathed a sigh of relief as he closed his computer and just sat in his chair.  Until his radio started buzzing on his desk.

_“Requesting two trucks to support police in dealing with a blown sewer drain, fire in progress.”_

“Attention trucks one and two, response needed to Grant Street for a blown sewer drain most likely not on fire.  Again trucks one and two get ready to roll out.”  He said over the intercom before switching on the station alarm.

 He could hear the collective groans of the crews and he jogged toward the truck bay.  They all leveled him unimpressed glares as he threw on his own uniform and walked toward his own truck.

“Don’t look at me like that, you think I asked for burning sewage?”  He asked, seeing all their head fall as they got into their trucks.

Hours later he stepped onto his own driveway with a scowl on his face.  He was only dressed in his boxers with a Walmart bathroom robe thrown over the top.  Closing the garage door behind him, he just noticed that his partner’s truck was also in the space as he stomped toward the downstairs shower.  The sewage explosion had taken them the better part of the rest of his shift to clean up, not to mention put out the fire that had burnt his nose hairs off from the smell alone.  Then the part of the road that the engineers didn’t think was compromised cracked through and sent him and three others into waist deep sewage.  Earning them a trip to the hospital’s decontamination unit to make sure nothing had gotten into their systems, with the added benefit of a pressure washing.

“Welcome home handsome, oh holy shit what is that smell?”  Reyes asked, holding his hand to his nose as his partner slammed the door to the bathroom behind himself.

“Burnt sewage.”  Scott yelled back, turning on the shower and grabbed in sizable amount of his soap.

An hour and a half later, after scrubbing his skin raw with a whole bar of soap, he finally emerged from the steamy bathroom in nothing but a towel with another thrown over his shoulder.  Dropping himself onto the couch next to his partner with a tired sigh as he snuggled his wet mop of hair into his side.  Earning a gentle laugh as the man took the free towel and worked it through his dripping hair. 

“It’s alright carino, just rest.”  Reyes whispered, wrapping the towel around his hair before pulling a blanket over the both of them.

“Why are you home early?”  Scott asked, snuggling closer to the man as he moved them both to lie horizontal on the cushy sectional.

“You were actually three hours late, or did the burning shit muddle your brain?”  The paramedic asked, earning an irritated grunt in return.

“Leave me alone, you don’t know the things that go into the sewage lines.”  The fire fighter said, stretched out along the man’s side, head pillowed on his chest.

“And I don’t want to, but I did book us a spot at the new dine in movie theater tonight to see that super hero movie you’ve been bothering me about.”  Reyes explained, earning a delighted squeak from his partner.

“I would let you do a number of things to me if I weren’t dead ass tired right now.”  Scott mumbled into his partner’s chest.

“I know, but maybe that’s a plan for tonight.  Get some sleep.”  Reyes whispered, kissing the man’s forehead before turning his attention back to his TV show.

-


	4. The Start of Something Else

Scott huffed for the umpteenth time as his hair fell into his eyes despite his attempted to coax it back with his hair gel.  He was two hours from the public vote to confirm or deny him as fire chief and he was a wreck.  His black dress uniform that he hadn’t had to wear since his graduation from his training academy hung from a hook behind him on the bathroom wall as he stood there in his boxers.  Sweating up a storm as he tried to make himself look presentable. 

How could he prove to the city that he was the right person to lead one of the most important public services for the city if he couldn’t even get himself ready in the morning?  Leaning his hands against the counter, he let out a shaky sigh as he heard steps come down the hallway.  His partner was dressed in his half of his own more professional uniform.  A pair of navy slacks and his light blue button up, his jacket set across the couch in the living room. 

“Need some help there handsome?”  Reyes asked, taking a towel from the bathroom drawer to wipe the excess hair gel from his partner’s head. 

“Yeah, I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”  Scott admitted, accepting the stool that the man kicked over from where it sat in the corner of the bathroom.

“It’s good to be nervous, shows that you care about what’s going to happen.  Just take a deep breath and relax.”  The paramedic said, taking a small dollop of the gel to start styling the man’s hair into his unique appearance.

Smoothing the back down and into place while styling the front into a gently spike that gave him a young and handsome look.  Reyes grabbed the towel and wiped the excess away before dabbing the sweat from his partner’s face.  Prodding the fire fighter to stand up, he handed him pieces of his dress uniform, waiting for the man to put on the piece before handing him the next.  Ending with his crisp jacket.

The slick black uniform framed his physique nicely.  The emblem of his fire station standing out on his left shoulder with the city emblem on the right in the form of a sewn on patch.  Supervisor rank represented on the cuffs of the sleeves in two yellow stripes.  A fire axe crossing behind a helmet as metal pins on his collar.  Name etched in black on a golden name plaque over his right breast, a rack of ribbons over his left showcasing his service, various training certifications taking form in pins below those ribbons.

“Perfect.”  Reyes whispered, smoothing out the small wrinkles in his jacket before looking up to the man’s calmer face.

“Because of you, go get yourself dressed.”  Scott chuckled, following the man back to the living room after turning off the light in the bathroom.

“And you call me cheesy, make sure you take your meds.”  The paramedic said, throwing on his navy jacket that had much of the same adornments as his fiancé’s.

Nodding, he walked over to the counter to pull his pill box out of the cabinet and open the tab that held his morning medication.  Taking them with the glass he had set next to the sink, he grabbed his engagement ring of the small hook he had installed on the wall below the cabinet.  Slipping the colorful band onto his finger, he smiled and grabbed his partner’s ring before walking over to where he was checking his appearance in the mirror.

“Once this all settles down, I’m going to make sure that we finally get to have our special day.  A small wedding, maybe somewhere quiet in the country.”  Scott mused, grabbing the man’s hand to slide the ring onto his finger.

“I can’t wait for that day carino.”  Reyes answered, smiling up at his partner before moving to grab the keys to his truck as well as his wallet.

Climbing into the truck, he was just starting to buckle his seatbelt as a mass landed in his lap.  Reyes jumped in and shut his own door behind him and leveled a smug smirk at him as his eyes dropped to said mass.  Looking down he saw that it was the folder that contained his speech that he had stayed up late with the man writing.  Blushing in embarrassment, he smiled at the man.

“That would have been interesting, seeing you trying to wing your acceptance speech.”  The paramedic chuckled, reaching over to take his partner’s free hand in his own.

“Interesting, heart attack inducing, same thing right?”  He replied, laughing nervously and he squeezed the man’s hand.

“At least you’d have a good looking paramedic to come save you, some mouth to mouth hmm?”  Reyes whispered, prompting a hot blush to spread up his neck like the red fire axe pin on his collar. 

“Stop it, we agreed that role play was off the table.”  Scott mumbled, hands clenching at the edges of the folder.

“If we didn’t have a city meeting to get to, I would tease you more.”  The man said, smiling warmly as he rubbed his thumb over the back of his partner’s hand as they pulled into the city hall parking lot.

Nodding, Scott swallowed the lump in his throat as they parked in one of the back spaces.  Clenching the tan folder in his hand, he stepped out of the vehicle.  Meeting the crisp morning air with the warming sun just beginning to crest over some of the taller reflective skyscrapers.  The imposing marble columns of city hall towering over the block as other citizens walked in and out for court meetings.  Feeling a gentle hand come up to rest on the small of his back, he let out a breath he had been holding as they moved forward.

“Listen Scott, some people in that room might not agree with us being as open as we are.  I’ll follow your lead ok?”  Reyes said, glancing around as they entered the halls, hand dropping to his side as their polished shoes clicked along the stone floor.

“Reyes, I’m not hiding that part of me from them.  If they really want to bring it up or deny me because we love each other than fuck them.  I won’t be ashamed of you.”  Scott stated with no room for debate as he took the paramedic’s hand in his own, smiling to the few older woman that gave them odd looks.

“You’re an incredible man, you know that right?”  The Latino man pointed out as the climbed the steps to the large council meeting room on the third floor.

“I’m started to get convinced yes, but I wouldn’t be as nearly put together without you.”  The fire fighter said as a police officer of the court pushed open the door for them.

“I’ll accept that, go get it Scott.”  Reyes said, leaning up to kiss the man lightly before separating with a loving smile as he went to find a good chair in the crowd to watch the preceding.

Taking a deep breath, he smiled to the small crowd that was gathered.  They still had half an hour until the meeting got underway, but he was humbled by the fifty plus people that he recognized that had come out to support him.  Most every firefighter from his station that wasn’t on shift was in the front row, all dressed up like he was.  Behind them police officers, and some of Reyes coworkers sat.  Looking back to the third row, he saw Cora and Sam smiling up at him.  Blake dressed in his new superman shirt, wrapped in a soft looking blanket in his father’s lap.  The small boy laughing up at something his father said, as he walked over to greet them.

“Someone cleans up nice.”  Cora commented, standing up to hug him with care not to mess up his uniform.

“Mostly thanks to the better half, you guys didn’t have to come.”  He said, handing her his speech folder before kneeling down to lift Blake into his arms as the boy held out his arms with a squeak of glee at his favorite uncle.

“Well I received a court order to come speak about your performance, but we would have wanted to be here regardless.  This is awesome Scott.”  Cora commented, smiling as she watched her son relax in his hold with his head nuzzled into the fire fighter’s neck.

“You should be up there accepting this Cora…”  Scott tried before being silences with one manicured hand in his face.

“Shut it, this is your moment and we’re here to support you.  They couldn’t have picked a better person for the job.”  She said, turning her head to greet an approaching Mitch.

“Damn, is that uniform older than you?”  Scott asked, receiving a slap to the back from the older fire fighter dressed up in the uniform he had graduated the academy in.

“You’re talking pretty big shit for a guy that was knee deep in it a few days ago.”  Mitch said, chuckling as the other man shrunk under the memory.

“Yeah, point taken.  How are you doing Blake?”  Scott asked, tilting his head to get a small glimpse of the boy’s happy expression.

“Tired, but momma says I’m getting my new leg soon.  I told the person that I wanted superman on it and he said yes.”  Blake explained, yawning into his shoulder as his eyelids drooped.

“That’s awesome bud, you’ll have to come show me at my new office if I get this job.”  He said, gently handing the snoozing boy back to his father as they started to call the meeting to order.

“Good luck up there Scott.”  Sam said, retaking his seat.

Nodding, he grabbed his folder from Cora before following the police officer that had come down to get him.  Brushing off his jacket, he took the cushy looking chair just to the one off the right of the judge presiding over the meeting, the mayor Julia Powell sitting to his left.  Smiling kindly at the woman, he set his folder down on the desk in front of him before taking a sip of the provided water.  Glancing out over the few hundred people crowded into the room, eyes landing on Reyes with a bottle of water in his hand, taking a seat beside Sam as Blake moved to lie across both of their laps.  His partner smiled back in reassurance as the judge tapped his gavel on the desk.

“If we are ready to proceed, today we are discussing the appointment of the fire chief of the city following the dismissal of Chief Antonio Felder.  Up for appointment by the mayor Julia Powell is Scott A. Ryder of the western district station.  This matter will be put to vote by the council of public officials after a hearing of the public opinions and input from required references.  We’ll start with his supervisor at his current station, and the individual responsible for his training.  If you would all take the oath and approach your designated microphone we can get started.”  The judge explained.

Watching Cora and Mitch walked up with their hand raised taking the oath, he tried to quell the anxiety in his gut as they approached their table with papers lined out in front of them.  He’d never exactly liked people describing him or singing his praises.  In the military, the only thing that had kept him from covering his ears was the fact that he had to stand at attention.  So even now it was a struggled to not sink down in his seat as the judge gestured for Cora to start them off.

“Good morning to the ladies and gentlemen of the court.  I’m Cora Harper, the lead supervisor of the western district station and have known Scott throughout the five plus years that he has served the station.  I unconditionally recommend him for the position of fire chief.  He is responsible, dedicated, and compassionate in his work.  Having only missed days at work for injury or illness, and always coming in to cover long shifts when the station needs him.”

“Personally I believe that his is brave enough to take on the issues that are plaguing our districts currently.  I firmly believe that a lot of people are alive today because of the actions Scott has taken during his service to the community.  Take the school shooting that we had not long ago.  Scott arrived on the scene and refused to follow the direction of the police force.  Taking a gun and leading the way into the school to save the children still trapped in those classrooms.  One of which was my son, and I believe that anyone that risks themselves as much as Scott does deserves to lead this department.” 

Cora sniffled slightly as she finished, along with a few others in the crowd.  He himself had to reach for a tissue from the desk and take in a shuddering breath at the memory of that day.  Nodding to the woman as she looked back at him, the judge gestured to Mitch to follow.

“Hello everyone, my name is Mitch Fisher, and I work as a supervisor and training director for both the public and our fire fighters in the western district.  Five years ago I had the privilege to watch a young Scott Ryder step through the front door of our station after recovering from an injury he sustained in his tour in Afghanistan as a marine.  Expressing that he still wanted to be able to help others, but could no longer as a part of our armed forces.  Scott was a faster learner back then, accepting all of the shifts that we could throw at him and putting safety above all.  Now, he remains responsible and organized while taking care of our station.  I fully recommend him to this highest office of our department in this city.”

Mitch looked up from his paper with a smile, looking to the nodding crowd in front of them as they took in both emotional and logical information about his character. 

“Thank you for that input, you two may return to your seat, but please say for the public hearing just in case we need clarification on the information you have presented.  I will now open the floor to public comment on the appointment of Scott Ryder.  Comments should be kept to the two minute time limit and be appropriate to the conversation at hand.  Scott Ryder, you will be required to respond to any questions asked directly toward you again keeping within the time limit of two minutes.  We have an hour to spend on this public hearing so let’s get started.”  The judge declared, looking up from his papers as court advisors handed out microphones.

Moving to the table at the center of the room just in front of the judge’s podium, he adjusted the mic so that it was close to his mouth before clasping his hands and looking up to meet the gaze of the first speaker.  An elderly African American woman that was being helped to stand up by a member of her family.  Adjusting her glasses, she looked down at the small notecard she had in her shaky hand before talking.

“I’ve been a part of this community for seventy year now, and I have seen many firefighters because of my condition.  I live in the western district, and have had Scott volunteer to drive me to appointments and back during his shifts because I can no longer afford to use care givers.  He always does it with a smile and asks me about my day no matter how bad of a day he was having.  He’s the compassion we need for this city.”  She explained, a small smile on her face as she was helped back to her seat.

The next person was a young man and his mother standing side by side.  Realization struck him that it was David and his mother, only now the boy had a fire fighter helmet held tightly under his arm as he started speaking.

“My mother was the first one to meet Scott, cut out of her car after a bad crash.  His use of the Jaws of Life got my mother to safety within minutes of arriving on the scene.  Then he met me when our apartment complex started on fire one cold morning.  I, paralyzed with fear, was hiding in my closet mentally willing the smoke to stop getting thicker.  Then Scott arrived, kicking down my door and taking me in his arms to rush me out to the help I needed.  My mother mentioned that I had been wanting to pursue a job in the emergency services, to which Scott offered a spot if I started training down at the station.  So, I went down to the eastern district where we live now, and have been serving for close to a year now.  I was inspired by Scott, and now help people because of him.”  David said, handing back the mic with a shy smile as he cradled the helmet in his arms.

The next man was someone that Scott hadn’t met to his memory.  He was relatively young, but old enough to probably be in his mid-thirties or forties.  His long beard standing out against his leather jacket.  A young woman holding a toddler beside him.

“Hello, my name is Densen Murphy and I have been a resident of this city for the past three years.  During that time I have seen an increase in crime and accidents on our streets.  Often stressing the system to its limits.  Just last month my wife and I were involved in an accident in the western district that nearly took the life of our daughter.  It took firefighters half an hour to respond to us that night, and the paramedics even more so.  We received excellent lifesaving care from those first responders, but Scott I have to ask what you are planning on doing to address this city wide problem.”  Densen put forward, looking up from his paper.

“Thank you for asking me that Mr. Murphy.  I am painfully aware of how short staffed our public services are when it comes to comparing them to the amount that this city actually needs.  My last shift before this meeting today was thirty hours long of going from call to call and trying to coordinate care.  I apologize that it took so long to get to you, but I am happy that you are all well.  If appointed to this position, I plan to take a look at the funding we have for the department and use it to bring our stations up to par with the needs of the city.  That will probably take form in more trucks, fire fighters, and a discussion of support between departments.  Does that answer your question?”  Scott asked, mentally trying to make sure he had covered what he could.

“For the most part yes, but how will we the public know that any of this is getting done?”  He asked, receiving supportive murmurs from some of the other citizens.

“Unlike the last administration I would like to set up month meetings with each district where I can personally hear what your concerns are and communicate the department’s progress on these issues.  I know this word has been used a lot and most of the time disregarded.  But I want transparency.”  The fire fighters explained, taking a quick sip of his water.

“That sounds amazing, thank you for hearing me out.”  Densen said, smiling in relief as he walked back to his seat with his family.

The rest of the hour went off along the same lines.  People that he had met during his service coming up to sing his praises and cause him to blush in embarrassment.  Others coming up to discuss what he was planning to do with different facets of the department that had been called into question with the previous chief.  Overall he thought that he had done a good job of answering questions until one old woman came up with the mic with a scowl written over her wrinkled features.

“A lot of these people have said that you cared for their families Scott Ryder.  But how can we really know that you care about our family members if you have none here supporting you.  To make matters worse, I would not want my children and grandchildren seeing a relationship such as yours in a place of respect and inspiration.  Coupling with a man is against god, especially one not of your own ancestry.  Your values are not what I want to see in my leadership, so I ask the council to deny your appointment and frankly dismiss you from the job that you already have.”  She finished, looking quite pleased with herself as he tried to pick his jaw off the desk.

What he failed to see was the inability for officers to stop his fiancé from storming up to the woman and frankly ripping the microphone from her small hands.  The woman not one to be deterred, crossed her arms and scowled at the taller Latino man.  He was halfway out of his seat to stop his partner from going to jail defending their relationship when said paramedic held up a firm hand and faced him and the tense council members.

“For a moment I’m going to ignore the fact that you’re homophobic and racist in this day and age.  My name for the court records is Reyes Vidal, and this ring was given to me by Scott Ryder.  I could go on for hours about how much he cares for those around him, but most of you have already done that.  But I want to offer you a more personal view of my fiancé, that this entitled bag of wrinkles is dismissing because of a choice to love not a woman but a man.”  His partner started, anger simmering in his chest as he wiped the water that had been collecting in his eyes.

“Scott Ryder is a man with a lot of faults and cracks.  Suffering from PTSD and injures from war and his service as a firefighter.  But he has worked toward bettering himself since the moment we met each other, after falling into my ambulance.  He is the most compassionate and caring man that I have ever been in a relationship with and that extends to the people around him.  There’s a reason that so many of you showed up today to make sure this man was overwhelmingly put in the position of leadership he deserves.  There’s no reason that you should be here.”  Reyes sneered, glaring directly at the woman who seemed to shrink at all the negative energy in the room pointed at her.

A chorus of clapping erupted after the few moments of tense silence following his speech.  The woman damn near running out of the room as Reyes handed the mic back to one of the assistants.  Smoothing the wrinkles in his jacket, he smiled at his partner before retaking his seat.  Chuckling as Blake threw his bottom half back in his lap, irritated at the man’s angry outburst that had disrupted his comfy arrangement.

“That concludes the public comment section of this meeting.  Thank you for not coming to blows over that last comment.  Is the council ready to vote on the appointment, or does it require a further question period by the members?”  The judge asked, turning to his left to regard the council spokesman.

“The council is ready to move forward with the vote your honor.”  A young Latina woman said, smiling as she leaned back from his mic.

“Very well, there are twelve council members.  To appoint Scott A. Ryder to the position of city fire chief, nine votes must be yes.  If four no statements are noted, the voting will stop and the appointment will be denied.  Do you understand Scott?”  The judge asked.

“Yes your honor.”  Scott said, standing up and clasping his hands together in front of himself.

“Good, council members please state your name for the record and then you vote of yes or no.”  The judge said, gesturing for the members to start.

“First district, Jefferson Lewis, yes.”  An older white man said gruffly.

“Second district, Wanda Tanner, yes.”  A quiet voiced African American woman stated.

“District three, Terry Gardner, yes.”  Excitedly announced a young pale man.

“District four, Nancy Von, yes.”  A disinterested, but serious woman stated.

“District five, Kent Jameson, yes.”   A slim man said, pushing his glasses back into place.

“Sixth district, George Tony, yes.”  Said tiredly from a middle aged, heavy set man.

“Seventh district, Cory Lawson, yes.”  Smiling as he stated, a younger darker skinned young man.

“District eight, Gregory Dawson, no.”  The older man stated clearly, crossing his arms.  The first negative causing irritated mumbling along the crowd.

“Ninth district, Lane Doe, no.”  Said a younger woman while writing in her notes, earning angrier grumbling.

“District ten, Bedford Dickerson, no.”  A young man said matter of fact, sinking the ball of nervousness that had been developing in his stomach. 

“District eleven, Mandy Hassan, yes.”  She said, earning a sigh of relief from the crowd, but not him.

“District twelve, Yolanda Jensen, yes.”  The Latina woman said, smiling as cheers went up in the room.

Reyes had been halfway to his side when some of the members were stating no.  Now he was by his side, holding the relieved man up to prevent him from sinking to the floor in the release of tension.  Getting his feet back under him, he accepted his folder from an assistant as he was directed toward the podium down lower in front of the table he had been sitting at.  His partner, retreating back to the front row where Cora, Sam, and Mitch stood in front of the other cheering members of their station.

Wiping tears from his eyes, the mayor and her assistant greeting him.

“On my authority as mayor and the public service council, I would like to present our new fire chief Scott Ryder.”  Julia announced, TV cameras turning on their red lights to record the event for the evening news.

He smiled as the mayor set his new military officer style hat on the podium.  The polished black pill short and tapered up to the front that displayed the chief insignia.  Sliding off his jacket, he also accepted the new one.  All of his old ribbons, certifications, and name plate the same.  But the differences lying in the five golden lines around the cuffs and chief epaulets on his shoulders as he slid on the jacket.  Opening his folder and pulling out the piece of paper to set on the worn wood, he realized that everything he had planned to say didn’t fit anymore.  So shutting the paper back in the folder, he looked up past the cameras, to his people, and smiled.

“I would just like to thank everyone for being here and supporting me today.  Even if this speech was being told in the line that I hadn’t got the job, I would still feel as humbled as I do now.  I’m happy that I had the chance to be involved in all of your lives, and I hope that I can make this department better to serve you all.  This city needs this kind of compassion right now, combining like this to start cutting down the danger is increasing right now.  I look forward to working with you all, and of course still participating in the community as much as I am able.”  Scott said, clapping erupting at the end as he gestured for an excited Blake to come to him.

Sam walked forward out of camera shot, the boy going into his arms with a delighted laugh.  Scott propped him on his hip with a broad smile, reaching his free arm up to set his new hat on top of the boy’s head.  Blake smiled broadly as he struggled to see in the hat a few sizes too big for his own head. 

“For those of you that don’t know this is Blake, my boss’s son.  He was hurt in the shooting, but has taken it in stride.  I want our goal as a city to be keeping everyone safe, especially our future.”  He said, smiling as flashes went off taking pictures of the pair.

After posing for what felt like hundreds of pictures, he was finally able to sneak away to the seclusion of his new office.  Sitting on the second floor corner of the building he had a great view of the city from two directions.  Throwing his jacket and hat onto the desk, he took a seat in the comfortable looking padded desk chair and sighed audibly, leaning back to look out the windows.  The stress and subsequent celebration of the day had left him bone tired, just wanting to go home and sleep until he started work tomorrow for real.

“Running away from the party?”  Reyes asked, closing the heavy wooden door gently behind him. 

“It’s been a long day, c’mere.”  Scott mumbled slightly, opening his arms in an invitation to his partner.

“You really think that chair can hold the both of us, and in front of two windows.  What will they say Mr. Fire Chief?”  The paramedic said with a small smirk, feigning a scandalous gasp as he walked forward.

“It’s not like I’m bending you over the desk, c’mon.”  The man whined, watching the man’s jacket join his own on the desk.

“Now that’s an idea I hadn’t even considered, top five fantasy there carino.”  The man said, smiling broadly as he sat down on his fiancé’s lap and leaned back against his chest, feet going up onto the desk for stability.

“I’m not going to be able to work if I have the memory of railing you against a desk in city hall, in my office.  It’d be like doing it in the back of an ambulance.”  Scott chuckled, wrapping his arms around his partner’s middle.

“To be fair there was that one time in the fire truck, you know when you…”  Reyes pointed out, feeling the blush of heat spread across his partner’s neck as he craned his head back to kiss at the sensitive junction.

“Can you please stop talking?”  The fire fighter asked, mentally willing the problem in his pants to go away.

“Why don’t you make me, I locked the door.”  Reyes purred, adjusting how he was sitting to pull a gasp out of his partner. 

“Close the shades, you…”  Scott ordered before another pair of lips silenced him.

-

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think this is a good ending for this part of the story. I could definitely write more if people are interested in hearing more. it would probably been in a separate work than this one. A series I guess. Thank you all for reading, this is always an interesting AU for me to write in and I'm glad some of your liked it enough to comment some awesome things.

**Author's Note:**

> A little something I've been working on for a while but didn't want to post. Kudo and Comment if you want more, this is only half the story I have written. Thanks for reading!


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